CHINA / Regional

Six students killed in school stampede

(China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-11-20 06:46

Doctors at Jiujiang No 1 People's Hospital check a student who was
injured in a stampede at Tutang Middle School on Saturday. [Xinhua]

Six first-grade students were trampled to death and 39 injured during a
stampede at a middle school in East China's Jiangxi Province on Saturday
evening, local officials confirmed yesterday.

The accident occurred at 8:30 pm after an evening class when students of
Tutang Middle School in Duchang swarmed into the staircase of a
three-storey building, jostling and pushing each other, Xinhua News
Agency reported.

Jiang Minxu, a grade-two student, said that more than 100 students fell
on top of each other.

Six students, five boys and one girl aged 12 and 13, died on their way to
hospital.

The injured students of whom 11 are said to be in a serious condition are
receiving treatment at the Duchang People's Hospital, Duchang Traditional
Chinese Medicine Hospital, and Jiujiang No 1 People's Hospital.

A student who survived the accident said he saw someone squatting to tie
shoelaces on the staircase between the first and second floors when
hundreds of students rushed downstairs.

Evening classes were held for first-grade students from six classes, each
with more than 80 children. The school has 1,600 students.

When the stampede took place, the teachers were in the office marking
students' mid-term exam papers. According to school rules, teachers
should be present during evening classes.

A female patient at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital surnamed
Deng described to China Daily what she saw that night: "Parents or
relatives of the students rushed into my ward, crying and in shock. It
was scary."

Top local officials, including the mayor of Jiujiang City and the head of
the county government, arrived in Tutang Town to supervise rescue efforts
and deal with the aftermath.

"The most important task is to treat the injured and pacify their
parents," said an official who did not want to be named, adding that
those responsible for the accident would be dealt with later.

Families of the dead students have been given 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) each
in compensation and local authorities are trying to establish the exact
cause of the accident, according to a Xinhua report.

The school principal has been detained by the local authorities, it said.

The school has been closed and classes suspended, the official said.

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