Students Injured in Yaounde School Stampede

Some late comers at Government Bilingual High School, Mendong, on Monday, January 13, 2014, forced open the school gate, wounding 17 students in the ensuing confusion.

Panic gripped the neighbourhood of Mendong in Yaounde yesterday January 13, 2014 when rumour spread like wildfire; alleging that the wall of a classroom had collapsed killing three students. This caused parents to rush into the school premises creating a general disorder.

In fact, some 500 students who were late for yesterday's Monday morning flag hosting pushed opened the school gate. This resulted to a stampede as those who were standing near the gate, fell on the ground while those behind climbed over them. Over 17 students sustained minor body trauma with one serious case of a head trauma.

A Discipline Master at the Government Bilingual High School in Mendong, David Emini said the school authority immediately rushed the injured students to the Biyem-Assi District Hospital where they immediately received medical care. At the Biyem-Assi hospital, the head nurse said 17 students between the ages of ten to 15, were brought to the hospital with different injuries.

At about 5:00 p.m. yesterday, just two of the injured students were still in the hospital. 15 of them who sustained minor body injuries had been taken care of and sent home. According to the hospital authorities, one student is still under observation at the Emergency Unit while a Form Two student who sustained a head trauma was admitted at the surgical ward of the hospital.

A scan of the head had already been done but the hospital authorities said they could not determine how long the student will be in the hospital. By midday yesterday, calm had returned to the school premises with lessons taking place in different classrooms.