Explosion During CAR Exam Kills 29 Students, Injures 280 Others

DDM News

A horrific tragedy struck the capital city of the Central African Republic (CAR) on Wednesday, leaving at least 29 students dead and more than 280 others injured after a sudden explosion triggered mass panic during national school exams.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the fatal incident occurred at the Lycée Barthélémy Boganda in Bangui, where nearly 6,000 students from five different schools had gathered to write the baccalaureate, a crucial high school final examination.

According to reports from Ndeke Luka radio, the explosion originated from an electricity transformer located on the ground floor of the school building, which was undergoing renovation at the time.

The power had just been restored when the blast occurred, causing loud noise and thick smoke to fill the area.

Abel Assaye, director of the Bangui community hospital, confirmed the deaths and the staggering number of injuries.

He described the incident as one of the worst tragedies the nation has experienced in recent times involving students.

“The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke,” he said, “caused mass panic and a deadly stampede as students tried to flee the exam hall.”

Eyewitnesses reported chaos as terrified students rushed towards the limited exits. Survivors recounted being crushed and trampled in the narrow corridors and doorways as thousands surged for safety.

“I don’t even remember what happened,” one female student survivor said. “We were in the exam room.

I heard a noise, and immediately, everything went blank. Since then, I have had severe pain in my pelvis.”

Another witness, identified as Magloire, said the explosion took place during a history and geography paper.

“The students wanted to save their lives, and as they fled, they saw death because the door was really small.

Not everyone could get out,” he told Radio France Internationale (RFI).

CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has declared a national period of mourning to honour the dead.

He also instructed that all injured students receive free medical treatment at government hospitals.

The country’s Education Minister, Aurelien-Simplice Kongbelet-Zimgas, described the tragedy as “unimaginable.”

He expressed condolences to the grieving families and announced the indefinite suspension of all ongoing examinations across the nation.

“I also offer our sincere condolences to the parents of the affected candidates and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he said in an official statement.

The tragedy has cast a dark shadow over the Central African Republic’s education system, exposing not only infrastructural vulnerabilities but also emergency response challenges during public events.

The transformer, which had reportedly been under maintenance, was not expected to pose any risk, according to preliminary findings.

However, questions are now being raised over why such a large-scale examination involving thousands of students was conducted in a building undergoing electrical work.

Parents, civil society groups, and education stakeholders are demanding an independent investigation into the incident and calling for improved safety measures in public schools across the country.

Wednesday’s disaster is the deadliest student-related tragedy in CAR’s recent history and has sent waves of sorrow across the continent, prompting condolences and solidarity messages from African leaders and global institutions.

As the nation mourns, many families are left devastated, having lost their children on what should have been one of the most important days of their academic lives.

Kindly follow our Whatsapp channel 

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vajkwdc4dTnFHl19vW3g

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook