Two girls and a boy were killed and 28 other children were injured after a roof collapsed in a primary school cafeteria in northern China, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

The roof of the cafeteria in northern Yongnian County caved in because of heavy snowfall at about 6:00 p.m. local time as the children were dining. Heavy snow hit various parts of northern China on Wednesday and is continuing to fall.

The injured children have been sent to hospital.

The school was closed following the incident and the students were relocated to other schools. The Chinese government asked all middle and primary schools across county to suspend classes for two days in order to check the safety of buildings.

According to meteorologists, heavy snows in northern China, which have already caused the closures of airports and highways, will continue into Friday.