Eight children were killed and 26 other injured in a stampede at a school in China's central Hunan Province, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
According to the agency, students of a middle school in a small town of Xiangxiang "finished their evening study session and were going downstairs when one of them toppled on the stairs of the second floor and caused dozens others to lose balance."
The ensued stampede killed seven boys and a girl aging between 11 and 14.
The injured students are treated in three nearby hospitals with five of the students reportedly being in a critical condition.
This tragic incident is the second in a month in Chinese schools. In mid-November a roof collapsed in a primary school cafeteria in northern China killing three children and injuring 28 other. The cave in of the roof was caused by heavy snowfalls.
MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti)
