A blast and subsequent stampede at the capital city's main high school have left 29 students killed and more than 250 others injured, officials said on Thursday.
The incident was on Wednesday at Barthelemy Boganda High School, where approximately 5,000 students had been assembled to take higher-education exams.
The explosion occurred when electricity was being reconnected to a faulty electrical transformer within the school compound, the country's Ministry of National Education said.
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The Health Ministry confirmed that the majority of the victims — 16 of them girls — perished on the spot as panic spread in the crowd after the explosion. Others were declared dead after they were rushed to the hospital.
At least 260 students were injured and were undergoing treatment in different hospitals around the city, the ministry further stated in a statement.
Authorities have yet to issue more information on the reason for the explosion or if any safety guidelines were observed in handling the electrical facilities on the school compound.
The disaster has rocked the nation with demands for a comprehensive probe into the events leading to the explosion and the subsequent haphazard evacuation.
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