108 injured after explosion fears cause stampede at NYS Training School

Posted by Jambo on Monday, January 25, 2016 · Leave a Comment 

About 108 recruits and officers were injured in a stampede at the National Youth Service Training School in Gilgil on Monday.

Ten of them suffered fractures, which were termed serious, following the incident at the institution next to army barracks, whose cause was not clear.

Gilgil MP Mathenge Nderitu who visited those injured, told of an explosion that he said was due to an electric fault.

“The report was that there was an explosion. In the wake of the terror attack in Somalia, there was a stampede in the institution,” he said.

Isaac Ndirangu, commandant in charge of the institution, told the Star on phone that students running away from their seniors caused the stampede.

Ndirangu said a group was found hiding in a classroom while the rest of the recruits were attending morning parade.

“The group, on spotting their seniors, fled from their hideout towards the crowd causing the others to panic and leading to the stampede,” he said.

He denied reports of an explosion and said learning had resumed.

Catherine Gitau, Gilgil subcounty hospital superintendent in charge, said the 108 injured people were referred to Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital. Some were treated and discharged.

Gitau said at her office that most of the patients taken to the hospital had soft tissue injuries and were in stable condition.

The Nakuru county security committee visited the institution on a fact-finding mission. Journalists were locked out.

-the-star.co.ke

http://www.jambonewspot.com/108-injured-after-explosion-fears-cause-stampede-at-nys-training-school/