Two students lose fingers in tug-of-war at California high school

Two Los Angeles-area high school students severed fingers while participating in a lunchtime group tug-of-war contest, authorities said on Tuesday.

A boy and a girl from South El Monte High School were rushed to a local trauma center with amputated fingers on Monday afternoon following the incident, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman said.

A spokesman for Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center said both students were in stable condition on Tuesday.

He declined to elaborate on their injuries or say how many fingers were sliced off.

A spokesman for the El Monte Union High School District, in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Local KTLA-5 reported that both students were seniors and student athletes who were taking part in a group tug-of-war as part of spirit week activities at the high school.

A total of some 40 students were involved in the game, KTLA said.

The station reported that doctors at County-USC had performed surgery to reattach the severed fingers.