Five students fell to their deaths while 11 others were injured after stair railings at a middle school suddenly succumbed on Thursday night in north China's Hebei Province, local official sources said Friday.

The tragedy occurred in Shangcheng Town Middle School of Cheng'an County at about 8:00 pm Thursday when students had finished their night class, said Meng Fanxiong, director of information office of Cheng'an County in Handan City.

Preliminary investigation showed that an unidentified student who had yelled out a false warning, "there is an earthquake", caused panic among the students leaving their classrooms, said Lu Haisheng, the schoolmaster.

Four students who were in critical condition had been transferred to Handan city hospital for emergency medical treatment, Lu Haijun, an official of the county education bureau, told Xinhua.

He said other slightly injured students were still undergoing treatment in Cheng'an County People's Hospital.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2003)