Community | December 08, 2009 | 12 comments

8 killed, 26 injured in China school stampede

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091208/ap_on_re_as/as_china_school_stampede

Image
Trauzer
"BEIJING – Eight youths were killed and 26 injured when students descending a crowded staircase after evening classes at a school in central China lost their footing amid a crush of bodies, state media and the local government reported Tuesday.

Students were rushing out of evening study sessions at 9:10 p.m. on Monday (1310 GMT) at Xiangxiang city's private Yucai Middle School when some lost their footing and began to fall on top of one another in a stampede on the steps.

More than 400 students had been exiting classrooms via an enclosed stairwell just 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The dead were listed as seven boys and one girl, aged 11-14, while eight other students were hospitalized with serious injuries, according to a local government notice and the official Xinhua News Agency.

Leaders of the city 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) south of Beijing immediately removed the head of the education bureau for bearing "leadership responsibility" for the accident, the government said."

I'm not sure removing administration is going to solve a structural problem, lest they were the ones who ordered it. I'm not sure how they are going to fix this, but it's very sad to hear when young students die.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091208/ap_on_re_as/as_china_school_stampede
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics
  2. tags:
    China,  Education,  School,  Accident,  5 more
  3.     
    |

12 comments // 8 killed, 26 injured in China school stampede

  • J_Jammer
  • mirror
    • 0
      mirror  

    • Bet your buns that the state media isnt reporting to whole story. They "remove " someone to make it look like the secrete policy makers were NOT responsible. Besides the obvious mention of it being a simple solution of when to release students, Are the pressures on young chinese to stay in study hall so great as to cause stamped? The fact is you can count on the chinese Gov. official to do one thing. Lie!

    • 2 years ago
  • bigloutech
    • 0
      bigloutech  

    • One student told the state-run Xinhua News Agency that two boys had intentionally blocked students near the bottom of the stairwell. "Someone shouted at them, and they let us through, but they played the trick again at the staircase leading to the first floor, and someone stumbled," the report quoted the unidentified student as saying.

    • 2 years ago
  • a021389b
  • jac1992
    • 0
      jac1992  

    • I don't mean to be sceptical but this all sounds very sketchy. There is no way that 8 were killed and 26 injured because some people lost their footing. There is no way this is the whole story, like why was there a stampeed?

    • 2 years ago
  • DrakelikesNachos
  • Nettle
    • 0
      Nettle  
    • jac1992:

      Even if it's not the whole story, the one we were given makes sense. If a few kids trip, bring the people around them down while there's an entire staircase bustling with kids, you're going to see a domino effect. And if it's narrow it's going to cause a huge problem.

    • 2 years ago
  • AmericanStandard
  • Skulldragger
    • 0
      Skulldragger  

    • "I'm not sure removing administration is going to solve a structural problem, lest they were the ones who ordered it."
      Actually it is exactly the right action to take. The solution is simply to stagger the release of classes so that all 400 students can not be at the staircase at the same time. Most schools here in the US do this for the children who ride buses. A good school manager should have easily been able to see the problem and the solution should be obvious.

    • 2 years ago
  • JonRaymond
  • jeffissleeping
more from Community:
from the community

top videos