Story by ZBC Reporter
A total of 29 children who were taking their school examinations in the Central African Republic have died in a stampede caused by a nearby explosion.
An official at the Bangui community hospital said the blast, on the second day of the high-school finals on Wednesday, occurred at an electricity transformer.
A local radio station reported that the noise of the explosion, combined with smoke caused alarm among the almost 6 000 students sitting for their examinations in the capital, Bangui.
The education ministry said the explosion happened after power was restored at the electricity transformer, located on the ground floor of the main building that had been undergoing repairs.
The ministry has also announced the suspension of further examinations.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has declared a period of national mourning and ordered that the more than 280 children who were injured in the crush get free treatment.
