Yahoo News Deadly stampede at Chinese school - reports
At least one child has died in a stampede at a primary school in China when the pupils rushed to the toilet before a morning exam, domestic media said.
Another two children were in a critical condition and at least a further 18 were injured in the crush at the school in Puyang, in central China’s Henan province, reports said.
Chinese schools are often poorly designed and built with sub-standard materials.
Teachers at the Third Experimental Primary School told the Beijing News that the stampede happened just after 8.20am after children rushed to use the toilet in a ten-minute break between a reading class and a monthly exam.
The newspaper said two children were killed, and that a wall in the toilets collapsed due to the pressure from the pupils.
The k618.cn news portal cited local family planning officials saying there was one death, although it is unclear how old the children in the stampede were.
The headmaster was removed from his post, said the newspaper, which is affiliated with the local government.
At least 2 students dead, 20 others injured from primary school stampede in Puyang, Henan province, Wed morning; cause under investigation pic.twitter.com/kl1ZN4XOUI
— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) March 22, 2017
Local authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Chinese schools have previously seen deadly stampedes, and some have resulted in parents protesting against education officials.
Six pupils were killed and another 25 injured in 2014 in a stampede at a primary school in Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan.
The children, who were aged six and seven, died when they were trampled on or crushed on a stairway.
That incident came after fourteen people were killed and 10 injured in a stampede at a mosque in the northern province of Ningxia.
China’s deadliest stampede in recent years occurred in 2015 during the New Year celebrations on Shanghai’s riverfront.
A total of 36 people died during the crush, with many victims’ families blaming lax security and poor event planning for the accident.
Additional Christine Wei
