Crimea school reopens after gun massacre

The college in Crimea where a teenage gunman killed 20 people last week reopened Wednesday with tearful students attending classes in different buildings as some parents chose to withdraw their children.

The Kerch technical college, which admits children from the age of 14, lost 20 students and staff last Wednesday when student Vladislav Roslyakov went on a shooting rampage.

The 18-year-old also set off explosives in one of the school's buildings. That section, which was seriously damaged in the explosion, has now been closed off and classes rescheduled in other buildings nearby.

Police were overseeing security on the grounds, an AFP correspondent observed.

About one hundred final-year students have been sent away on internships to allow the college to function on limited premises, Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov told local media.

Nearly 50 people are still hospitalised with injuries sustained in the attack, he said.

Twenty-two families have said they want their children to go to other schools, he added.

Aksyonov said the Russian national guard would now provide security in Crimean schools to "help convey the feeling of security and safety to people."