Up to 10 children were killed and 45 injured when students yelling "ghost" sparked a stampede on a darkened elementary school staircase in China's Sichuan province, officials and reports said Wednesday.
The accident occurred Tuesday evening in the school in Guangna township when someone shouted "ghosts are coming" as students filed out of their evening classes.
State radio said that 10 children were killed in the stampede, while a local official put the death toll at eight. "Eight died and 45 were injured. Five are in serious condition," a spokesman surnamed Xiang at the Tongjiang county government, which oversees the town, told AFP.