THREE students have died after a gym collapsed in China.

At least seven children were playing basketball in the two-storey building in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang went it caved in.

Four youngsters were trapped underneath rubble as rescuers scrambled to help them on Monday evening.

Authorities have confirmed three died, while a further two were injured, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Footage circulating on social media shows rescue crews frantically combing through snow-covered debris in search of missing youngsters at the Yuecheng Gym Stadium in Jiamusi city.

In another clip, a woman can be seen running towards the building while shouting: "My son, my son is in there."

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According to a local official, the collapse was linked to heavy snowfall that had battered the region.

Cops have arrested the boss of the gym – but no further details have been give.

The official cause had not yet been confirmed by authorities investigating the incident.

It comes just months after another gym in the same province crumbled – leaving 11 people dead.

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A school's girls' volleyball team were training when the roof gave way in July.

At least 19 people were in the building at the time, but four managed to escape.

A witness told local media that there was “nowhere to hide” from the overhead collapse inside the gym.

According to local media, a construction company overseeing a new building next door to the school had stored perlite building materials on the roof of the gym before it collapsed after heavy rain.

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