A nine-year-old boy was trampled to death in a rush for food during a lunch break at his school on the East Rand, the Gauteng education department said on Friday.
Mabulelo Magqwana was trampled by fellow pupils in a rush for the food vendors at the Phumula Gardens Primary School in Vosloorus on Thursday.
”I am shattered,” Gauteng education minister Angie Motshekga said in a statement.
The boy fell and was trampled, and two other pupils were injured and are recovering at a hospital in Germiston.
”I feel empty as I always believed our schools should be safe for our children. My sincere condolences to the family, school and friends of the deceased.
”The department will move swiftly in assisting the family and police in dealing with this matter,” Motshekga said.
The department has already dispatched a team of counsellors to assist pupils, teachers and family members, she said. — Sapa