22 students hurt, 1 dies in toilets stampede
Print Edition
ONE 7-year-old girl has not stopped vomiting at night since she was sent to hospital following a stampede at her primary school in central China’s Henan Province on Wednesday.
She was among 22 students injured in the stampede, one of whom died on the way to hospital.
“She was among the ones buried under the crowd in the stampede. She has not been able to eat or drink,” her mother said yesterday.
Five severely injured students have shown signs of recovery, doctors at the Puyang People’s Hospital said.
The accident occurred about 8:30am on Wednesday in the No. 3 Experimental Primary School of Puyang County as students rushed to the toilets during a 10-minute break.
“When the crowd of students dashed down the staircase, I tried to stop them and grabbed a falling child. However, more fell down and I was pushed down too,” said Liu Wenhua, the school’s deputy principal.
There are 1,704 students on the school campus, which serves grades one, two and four. There are a total of six toilets on the first and second floors for the entire U-shaped three-story complex.
Liu said the students were going to take a test after the break, so many went to the toilet.
Some on the second floor fell down the stairs, causing others to lose their balance and also fall.
Zhang Hongyi, Party secretary of Puyang County, said the stampede exposed the aging facilities and lack of toilets at the school. There were also weaknesses in the school’s safety management,
The principal and deputy principal have been suspended from their posts and an investigation is underway.
Zhang said the school has had to cope with increasing numbers over the past two years due to the need to educate migrant workers’ children.
“The facilities have not been expanded with the increase in students. We need to build more new schools this year,” he said.
The school has been closed until work is carried out to add more toilets and open up more corridors to the restrooms.
Meanwhile, safety checks have been ordered at all schools in the county.
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