• An explosion at a school in Bangui led to a stampede, resulting in 29 student deaths.
• More than 250 students were injured during the chaos following the incident.
• The explosion occurred while students were taking their final exams.
• Authorities are calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the explosion.
• The president announced three days of national mourning following the tragedy.

An explosion at the Barthelemy Boganda High School in Bangui, Central African Republic, resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 29 students and injuries to more than 250 others, according to the Ministry of Health. The incident occurred when an electrical transformer malfunctioned and exploded as students were taking their baccalaureate exams, creating panic among approximately 5,300 pupils present at the scene, reports TRT Global, Reuters, and Africanews.

Following the explosion, many students attempted to flee, resulting in a deadly stampede. Eyewitness accounts describe a scene of chaos, with some students reportedly jumping out of windows to escape, according to South China Morning Post and India Times.

The hospital system in Bangui was overwhelmed with casualties, complicating emergency response efforts, with reports indicating that casualties were treated using various means due to the volume of patients, remarked the Health Ministry and Dawn.

In response to this tragedy, President Faustin Archange Touadera declared three days of national mourning and expressed his condolences through a video message, emphasizing the need for a thorough investigation into the incident's causes, as stated by AllAfrica and Africanews.