Central African Republic declares three days of national mourning following stampede

The Central African Republic has declared 3 days of mourning after an explosion and the stampede that followed killed at least 29 schoolchildren and injured more than 250 at a high school in the capital city, Bangui.

Prime Minister Félix Molua visited the hospital with the injured students to assess their condition.

The incident left parents shocked as they sought answers.

“The police called me and told me to come quickly to the community hospital because my daughter was there. She is among the victims from Barthélémy Boganda High School—that’s how I came to the hospital. At this health center, she was in critical condition, and we had to transfer her here," a parent said.

When you have a child, you raise them to a certain age, and you have to support their schooling because they are your future. But now my daughter is in critical condition, and if she dies, my life will never be the same. I pray that she gets better.”

“From yesterday until today, we have been on our feet. Yesterday was the worst; we managed to stabilize the situation with the arrival of security. We received 85 patients who were victims of yesterday’s events at Barthélémy Boganda High School: 65 in emergency, 10 in gynecology, and 10 in traumatology. We regrettably had 15 deaths—young girls, two pregnant women, and two boys,” said Abel Assaye, the Director General of the Community Hospital.

Most of the victims, including 16 girls, died at the scene after the explosion resulted in a stampede, while others were confirmed dead at the hospital, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. At least 260 students were injured and being treated in various hospitals, the ministry said.

An estimated 5,000 students were at the school for higher-education exams at the time. Survivors recounted hearing a loud explosion from the transformer midway into the examination.