An incident occurred at a school in Kazakhstan's capital when a stampede broke out in the cloakroom, with eyewitnesses capturing it on video. It turned out that no one required serious medical attention, but an ambulance crew was still called to the scene, reports infohub.kz.
According to Gul'dana Usmanova, chief specialist at the Astana education department, the situation was not as critical as it might have seemed. "The child simply fell. The parents panicked. The school administration called an ambulance. They examined him. It turned out he had a soft tissue bruise. The stampede, you know, it just happened on its own. The children were just playing, pushing each other like that," she was quoted as saying by KTK TV channel.
The department explained the cause: the stampede occurred due to poor scheduling of second-shift lessons. Classes ended simultaneously for seven grades, and all students rushed to the cloakroom at once to get their clothes.
Amid the incident, the school principal submitted a letter of resignation. It is noted that she may continue working at the school, but no longer in a leadership position.
Additionally, reports emerged about the dismissal of a cleaner, which the department later denied. "We never had such a conversation. There was no order either. The cloakroom attendant is currently working. She doesn't even know she was fired," explained Gul'dana Usmanova.
Recall that footage of the stampede in the locker room of one of Astana's schools spread across social media, and the incident was commented on by the education department of the capital's akimat.