Psychiatric morbidity in school children who suffered a stampede

Stampede is described as a sudden movement of a mass of people in response to a particular circumstance or stimulus. Human stampedes are quite often reported from crowded places like places of worship, sporting events, political rallies, etc. There are reports of development of posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents subsequent to both natural and man-made disasters. The present tragedy struck in a Government Secondary School in Delhi on September 9, 2009. The study describes the long-term psychiatric morbidity in children following stampede.