TWENTY-nine students died when an explosion caused a stampede in the Central African Republic on Wednesday (local time).

The terrifying incident occurred on the second day of the baccalaureate examinations when an electricity transformer, located on the ground floor of the main school building, exploded, a report by BBC statd.

The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke" caused alarm among the almost 6,000 students sitting the baccalaureate at a school in the capital, Bangui, local radio station Ndeke Luka reported.

In response to the horrific event, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra swiftly ordered free medical treatment for all those wounded in the stampede and declared a period of national mourning.

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.

Following the catastrophe, Education Minister Aurelien-Simplice Kongbelet-Zimgas announced the immediate suspension of all further exams.(Sarah Balaba/CNU Comm Intern)

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• #29 Students
• #Died
• #Central African Republic
• #Explosion
• #Baccalaureate Examinations
• #Electricity Transformer
• #Bangui
• #President Faustin-Archange Touadéra
• #Stampede