Up to 50 children managed to escapefrom the school seized by a group of gunmen in the North Ossetian town of Beslan on Wednesday and at least three had been killed, Itar-tass news agency said on Wednesday.

The children had apparently hidden when the attackers stormed the school, according to the report. They started leaving in small groups when shooting died down.

The report also quoted a duty officer at the regional Interior Ministry as saying that at least three people were killed during the attack by the gunmen.

"One body lies near the entrance and two others are on a road near the fence," he was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying,adding that "all the dead are civilians."

"The militants do not let recover the bodies, opening fire as people appear in front of the school," he noted.

Source: Xinhua