New Delhi: Five children were killed and 30 injured on Thursday in a stampede in a flooded government school in the Capital.
At the time of the incident there were reportedly around 1,000 students inside the school premises.
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 on Thursday morning.
The heavy rain from Wednesday evening had left the school premises flooded and when the children came in the morning, a rumour went around that the ankle-deep water was charged with electricity.
The children panicked and that led 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.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely visited the hospital where the injured have been admitted.
"An enquiry will be held and action taken against those responsible," the Chief Minister said.
Dikshit announced a compensation of Rs 1,00,000 to the next-of-kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured.
Though no official from the school administration was available for comment, relatives of the students and local residents gathered in front of the school to protest the "negligence on the part of administration".
They pelted stones, shouted slogans and tried to block the road in front of the school.
According to Delhi Police, extra forces have been sent to the school area and the GTB hospital.
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