Derek Neary
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Jan 22/99) - Three students who decided to take a walk across the ceiling of a school gymnasium in Fort Simpson last Wednesday, narrowly avoided serious injury as one of them plunged through the tile but landed on a metal support beam, preventing him from falling to the floor.

The boy was able to pull himself back up to the ceiling and then the three junior high students, who have all been suspended, made their way back down, according to Thomas Simpson school principal Robert Byatt.

"It could have been very, very serious," he said of the perilous situation.

A senior high gym class was practising Dene games at the time of the near-accident. One student who witnessed the incident said there was some rumbling from above before the boy came through, alerting those below to the fact that somebody was up on the ceiling. Then the tile gave way and the boy's hat and jacket dropped to the floor.

"At the time we were all kind of stunned and we sort of froze. It all happened so fast, it was sort of scary," the student said.

The boys' presence on the ceiling was also made known to Byatt who, concerned for their welfare, went up in pursuit of them. He said he then called to them but they didn't respond.

The boys had apparently climbed up through a ceiling access area near the stage in the gymnasium. It's been said the students were looking for a place to smoke cigarettes, but Byatt said the boys denied that.

As for the cost to repair the ceiling, Byatt said he doesn't know what it will amount to, but the students will be liable for the damages.

The matter was to have been discussed at the District Education Authority meeting on Tuesday evening.