A hospital director has revealed that twenty-nine children who were taking their school exams in the Central African Republic have died in a stampede after a nearby explosion caused panic.
Abel Assaye from the Bangui community hospital stated that the blast, on the second day of the high-school finals on Wednesday, unfolded near an electricity transformer.
“The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke” caused alarm among the almost 6,000 students sitting the baccalaureate at a school in the capital, Bangui, local radio outlet Ndeke Luka reported.
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Central African Republic president Faustin-Archange Touadéra has reportedly declared a period of national mourning after the unforeseen stampede.
Also, he has ordered that the more than 280 who were wounded in the stampede be afforded free treatment in the hospital.
According to the BBC, students from five different schools in the capital had gone to the Lycée Barthélémy Boganda to sit the baccalaureate exam.
The Central African Republic continues to grapple with political instability and security challenges, and the turmoil shows no signs of ending anytime soon
Reports indicate that government forces, backed by Russian mercenaries, are battling armed groups threatening to overthrow Touadéra’s administration.
