Six children are dead and around 25 have been injured after being trampled on a staircase during a panicked stampede at a primary school in southwestern China today.
The tragedy occurred after some children punched two three metre mattresses causing them to fall on top of other young pupils, according to local newspaper Yunnan Information Daily.
In a terrified response, hordes of other children rushed out of harm's way and charged down a nearby staircase - where many lost their balance and fell before being crushed under the feet of their classmates.
The six who died were all in grade one and two at Kunming's Mingtong Primary School, meaning they were just six or seven years old.
The city government said 25 injured students were taken to the hospital and all those with minor injuries have been released.
Two of the injured are currently in a serious condition, according to a statement on a news portal run directly by the municipal government in the city of Kunming.
Chinese vice premier Liu Yandong demanded an investigation be launched into the cause of the fatal accident and has requested that the report be released to the public, Kunming officials said.
As news of the tragic accident broke today, it also emerged that a man had fatally stabbed four students on their way to an elementary school in the neighboring province of Guangxi.
Three of the children died at the scene with one later dying in hospital and police have launched a manhunt for the middle-aged assailant.
Violent crime is rare in China compared with many other countries but there have been a series of attacks on schools and children recently.
Earlier this month, a man killed three pupils on the first day of school before jumping to his death in the central Hubei province.
Chinese education officials have repeatedly demanded that campus security be increased.
Following today's fatal stampede, Kunming officials demanded that all schools in the city have thorough security checks to remove any safety hazards.
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