2 kids in China die in school stampede

BEIJING — Two students died and more than 20 others were injured Wednesday in a stampede during a morning bathroom break at an elementary school in central China, government officials said.

The Puyang county government in Henan province said in a brief notice that the incident is under investigation. A county official reached by phone confirmed the deaths and injuries but declined to give other details.

Overcrowding and poor building design and construction have been blamed in the past for similar deaths and injuries at Chinese schools.

China’s deadliest stampede in recent years occurred during new year festivities on Jan. 1, 2015, when 36 people died in a crush along Shanghai’s riverfront esplanade.

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