Lost shoe to blame for horror stampede at school
Source: Xinhua |
December 2, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE primary school stampede that put 41 children in hospital in northwest China on Monday was triggered when a girl bent down to pick up a lost shoe on a flight of stairs, the school head said yesterday.
The girl, Madina, 8, was knocked over and buried under dozens of children on the 1.5-meter-wide stairwell of the second floor of the four-story building, said Aytursun Metniyaz, principal of the No. 5 Primary School in Aksu City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Hundreds of other children behind her kept pushing, unaware of the accident, as they hurried to the playground at lunchtime.
Madina was the most severely injured of the 41 children admitted to the No. 1 People's Hospital of Aksu. A total of 123 children had been taken to hospital for checks.
Madina is still being treated in the intensive care unit, but is out of danger, according to hospital staff. "She can even sit up and take fluids," one doctor said.
Madina's mother has been at the hospital since the accident. "When I first came and saw my girl, she couldn't recognize me. I'm so worried," she said.
Aygul, a teacher who was guiding the children to the playground, saw Madina being crushed. She tried to pull the girl up, but was pushed over herself. "It turned chaotic in a second," Aygul said. About 10 teachers ran to the stairwell and restored order in minutes.
With hundreds of children piled up, crying and shouting, it could have been much worse, said another teacher who joined the rescue.
Steel columns on the stair handrail were broken and twisted in the incident.
Rezya Turusun, an 8-year-old second grader, recalls stumbling, falling on an older child and being buried under five or six other children. "It was so frightening, everybody was crying," she said.
Rezya is in the hospital under medical observation for breathing difficulties, but she said she felt better and wanted to return to school.
Seven less severely injured children were receiving psychological counseling at the hospital from school psychiatrist Asya. "Most children were frightened, even traumatized, after the stampede. But they are gradually calming down," Asya said.
The principal said the school attached great importance to safety and deployed teachers to guide students at each stairwell. "It reminded us that we can never be careful enough."
The school, founded in 1965, has 1,892 students and 122 teachers.
The girl, Madina, 8, was knocked over and buried under dozens of children on the 1.5-meter-wide stairwell of the second floor of the four-story building, said Aytursun Metniyaz, principal of the No. 5 Primary School in Aksu City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Hundreds of other children behind her kept pushing, unaware of the accident, as they hurried to the playground at lunchtime.
Madina was the most severely injured of the 41 children admitted to the No. 1 People's Hospital of Aksu. A total of 123 children had been taken to hospital for checks.
Madina is still being treated in the intensive care unit, but is out of danger, according to hospital staff. "She can even sit up and take fluids," one doctor said.
Madina's mother has been at the hospital since the accident. "When I first came and saw my girl, she couldn't recognize me. I'm so worried," she said.
Aygul, a teacher who was guiding the children to the playground, saw Madina being crushed. She tried to pull the girl up, but was pushed over herself. "It turned chaotic in a second," Aygul said. About 10 teachers ran to the stairwell and restored order in minutes.
With hundreds of children piled up, crying and shouting, it could have been much worse, said another teacher who joined the rescue.
Steel columns on the stair handrail were broken and twisted in the incident.
Rezya Turusun, an 8-year-old second grader, recalls stumbling, falling on an older child and being buried under five or six other children. "It was so frightening, everybody was crying," she said.
Rezya is in the hospital under medical observation for breathing difficulties, but she said she felt better and wanted to return to school.
Seven less severely injured children were receiving psychological counseling at the hospital from school psychiatrist Asya. "Most children were frightened, even traumatized, after the stampede. But they are gradually calming down," Asya said.
The principal said the school attached great importance to safety and deployed teachers to guide students at each stairwell. "It reminded us that we can never be careful enough."
The school, founded in 1965, has 1,892 students and 122 teachers.
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