A father looked dazed in Hong-hui Hospital after learning that his 6-year-old son had died in a stampede at school.

"I can't believe my son is dead," said the man, surnamed Li.

The stampede, which killed six students and injured 26 others, occurred around 2:30 pm at Ming-tong Primary School in Kunming province.

The injured youngsters, including two in serious condition, have been hospitalized. Most were in first or second grade.

Officials were still investigating the stampede and had not yet determined the cause.

"The school must give an explanation to the public, and those responsible will be punished," said Li Jiheng, the provincial governor. "Each primary and middle school must strengthen campus security checks to avoid similar tragedies."

By 5:10 pm, all students on the scene had been taken home or to hospital. Some pupils' shoes were lost in the stampede.

Wang Leilei, a Beijing prosecutor, said that the school has responsibility for the case.

"The school and parents should tell youngsters what to do when emergencies happen in a way that they can understand, or else their curiosity will push them to see and cause more trouble," said Wang, also a mother of a 3-year-old boy.

Founded in 1955, Mingtong is located in Panlong district in downtown Kunming and is one of the best schools in the area.

Also on Friday, four primary school students in Lingshan county, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, were attacked by a knife-wielding middle-aged man at about 6:20 am as they made their way to the Gupu Primary School. Police, who have identified the suspect as a 56-year-old local man surnamed Shi, offered an award of up to 20,000 yuan ($3,250) for information. Police were searching woodlands in the region for the suspect.

Contact the writers at guoanfei@chinadaily.com.cn and caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn