Twenty-nine children who were taking their school exams in the Central African Republic have been killed in a crash after a nearby explosion caused panic.
The blast, on the second day of the high-school finals on Wednesday, occurred at an electricity transformer, said Abel Assaye from the Bangui community hospital.
"The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke" caused alarm among 6,000 students sitting the baccalaureate at a school in the capital, Bangui.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has declared three days of national mourning.Â
He also ordered that the more than 280 who were wounded in the crush get free treatment in hospitals.
Students from five different schools in the capital had gone to the Lycée Barthélémy Boganda to sit the baccalaureate exam.
The ministry of education 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.
Aurelien-Simplice Kongbelet-Zimgas, the minister of Education said in the statement that he has suspended further exams.
A female survivor spoke to the media. "I don't even remember what happened. We were in the exam room and when I heard a noise, I immediately fell into a daze," she said.
Magloire, one of the students who survived, explained that the blast happened during the history and geography exam.
"The students wanted to save their lives, and as they fled, they saw death because there were so many people and the door was really small. Not everyone could get out," he added.
The Central African Republic continues to face political instability and security challenges.Government forces, backed by Russian mercenaries, are battling armed groups threatening to overthrow president Touadéra's administration.
