Dhaka, May 13 -- A Myanmar junta airstrike hit a school Monday killing 22 people, including 20 children, witnesses said, despite a purported humanitarian ceasefire called to help the Southeast Asian nation recover from a devastating earthquake.

The strike hit a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin - around 100 kilometres (65 miles) northwest of the epicentre of the March 28 quake - at about 10:00 am (0330 GMT), locals said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres is "deeply alarmed" by reports of the strike, his spokesman told reporters in New York, adding that "schools must remain areas in which children have a safe place to learn and not be bombed."

The green school building was a shattered husk on Monday afternoon, its metal roof crumpled with ...