New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS): Five children were killed and 27 injured Thursday in a stampede in a flooded government school in the capital. Thirty-one of the victims were girls. The stampede was sparked by rumours that electric current had leaked into the water that had flooded the school, police said.
The incident took place in a government-run school in Khajuri Khas in northeast Delhi in the morning.
The heavy rain from last evening had left the school premises flooded and when the children were inside a rumour went around that the ankle-deep water was charged with electricity. The children panicked and started running helter skelter, leading to a stampede on a staircase, a police official said.
Confirming the number of dead and injured, Joint Commissioner of Police Dharmendra Kumar said the injured have been admitted to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital.