Six people were hurt during a stampede at Capricorn College in Polokwane, Limpopo, provincial police spokesperson Motlasela Mojapelo has confirmed.

Mojapelo said one person sustained serious injuries while the other five collapsed during the stampede. All were taken to hospital for treatment.

The spokesperson also confirmed that two applicants were run over by a Mercedes-Benz. Asked if the accident was related to the stampede, Mojapelo indicated that it occurred in close proximity and the injured were part of the group that hoped to be enrolled at the college.

“The same students had come to apply at the college,” Mojapelo said. One of the prospective students was seriously injured while the other sustained mild injuries.

Mojapelo also confirmed that three others were hurt at a different campus – in Seshego – one of them seriously.

Crowd management officers have been deployed.

The stampede took place amid fears about a call by the EFF for eligible prospective students to turn up at institutions of higher learning to register as ‘walk-ins’.

Registration has been postponed to Monday, according to media reports. The college could not be reached immediately to confirm details of the incident.

Concern has been building about heightened expectations since president Jacob Zuma announced free higher education in December last year, followed by the EFF’s call for walk-in enrolments. DM

File Photo credit: Educonnect.