Six street children who were sleeping in a storm drain next to an elite school in the Ugandan capital have been killed after a wall fell on them.

“Due to a heavy downpour part of the perimeter wall of the school gave way, collapsed on the kids, killing six of them on the spot and two were injured,” Kampala’s deputy police spokesman Luke Owoyesigire told AFP.

“The police rescue team is on the scene to check if any person is buried under the debris.”

The spokesman said police were trying to establish the identities of the children and track down their families, adding that they had been sleeping in the storm drain for a while.

According to reports, it was the second such incident recently, after five family members were killed last month as they slept in a mud and wattle house when a wall collapsed on them.