A 12-year-old Palmerston North boy is in a serious but stable condition after falling through a skylight at a primary school.
A passerby noticed three young boys on the roof of Central Normal Primary School about 8.20pm on Friday, police said.
Officers arrived quickly but found one boy had fallen through the skylight.
He was transferred to Starship Hospital from Palmerston North this morning in a critical condition.
Detective Sergeant Grayson Joines said it appeared the boy sat on the skylight above a classroom.
"It doesn't appear through stupidity, but it would appear that one of the boys has sat down on a skylight and it's given way and he's fallen backwards onto a concrete carpeted floor."
Mr Joines said the boy fell about five metres.
The boy's friends forced their way into the building to help him after he fell.
Mr Joines said the boys were not doing anything criminal, they were just playing around.
The boy's family was with him and they were being helped by Victim Support.
Last month in the South Island, Jordan Logan McKeown, who was 14, died after he fell through a skylight in Timaru.
Two other people then fell through the roof at the same spot later that month.
