Another 25 people were injured in chaos that ensued on Thursday, OP Kalra, a medical superintendent of the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, said.

It was alleged that rumours of an electrical short-cut in the state-run school caused the stampede.

Students became stuck in a stairwell in the school building during the incident, while en route to an exam.

The students were aged between eight and 16, police said.

Parents were said to have gathered outside the school to hear of the condition of their children.

The government said that it had ordered an investigation into the incident.

Ved Marwah, a former New Delhi police commissioner, said: "It was raining from last night. An examination was on [when] a rumour went around that there was a short-circuit and that the place was on fire.

"The teachers told the students to get out and the students just rushed. And there was one staircase and in that ... five students died."

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