MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A school staircase collapsed in a provincial Russian town on Wednesday, killing one child and burying eight others under the debris, Russia's Emergency Services Ministry said.

"As a result of maintenance works in one of the schools in Orenburg region the staircase between the second and third floor collapsed. One child died, ten are in hospital, and eight are under the rubble," an Emergency Services Ministry spokesman said.

The ministry did not give the exact location of the school but Interfax news agency said it was located in the town of Belyayevka, in the southeastern Urals region of Orenburg.

Many Russian schools are in poor condition after decades of neglect, though the Kremlin has pledged to renovate buildings in poor condition. (Reporting by Conor Sweeney; Editing by Charles Dick)

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