More than 30 students at the Sansão Muthemba Secondary School, in the central city of Beira, suffered various injuries on Tuesday, some of them serious, after falling from the second floor as they were leaving their classrooms.

According to the clinical director of the Beira Central Hospital, "there are more than 30 children who came home from school victims of various traumas".

Ana Tambo, quoted by Lusa, explained that some students were admitted to the health unit unconscious, others with head injuries, after the fall they suffered at the end of the day on Tuesday.

She added that at the beginning of the night, 18 children were still in the unit, nine of whom had severe head trauma and remain in pediatric intensive care, while others are unconscious and some are recovering.

"Others are undergoing tests in radiology to find out exactly what happened," said Ana Tambo, admitting that the greatest number of injuries among the children were minor.

According to the Secretary of State for Sofala province, Stella Pinto Zeca, the more than 30 children who fell from the second floor were leaving their classrooms shortly after taking their final exams for the term. In the excitement of leaving and descending the stairs, some pupils pushed their classmates, causing the rest to fall.