Two middle school students in Suqian of Jiangsu province fell to death from the fourth floor on a school building on Nov 21.

Witnesses attributed the tragedy to broken railings, according to Southern Metropolis Daily.

The two boys, aged 15 and 16, were leaning against the railings in Suyu Experimental Junior High School when the railings suddenly broke. Their heads hit the ground and they were declared dead around 7 pm.

A schoolmate of the boys surnamed Yang said that the school had known the railings of its buildings had quality problems before the accident. "Every student was asked to pay 100 yuan ($16) to repair the railings," said Yang.

Local police are investigating the case.