A stampede at a middle school in Kashgar, located in the East Turkistan (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), has left 14 people injured, according to local authorities.

The incident occurred at around 3:25 pm (7:25 am GMT) on Monday at the No. 8 Middle School in Kashgar, a statement on a social media account affiliated with the city government said. A student reportedly fell in front of a door as pupils were moving between a dormitory and a teaching building, "causing a stampede," the statement added, without providing further details.

It said three people were "seriously injured and are being treated with all-out efforts." A further 11 people sustained "light injuries" and are being kept in the hospital for observation.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident, the statement noted.

Located approximately 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) from Beijing, Kashgar is the cultural heartland of East Turkistan, where Uyghurs, a minority group in China, are the predominant ethnic group.

The ruling Communist Party has been widely accused of committing grievous human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region, which the United States and lawmakers in some other countries have described as a "genocide," according to Education.com.