Some instincts you just can't fight, even in the most dire of situations. Like any teenager conscious about her loks, Wang Yi, 14, kept turning her face away from cameras as she was being interviewed about her ordeal.

Her face was stomped on repeatedly by stampeding classmates trying to escape from Xu Mu Secondary School in Yingxiu on Monday. Wang Yi lost consciousness, but was eventually rescued and revived by a teacher who performed CPR.

The back of her head and face are swollen. Her eyes are swollen, teary and bloodshot. However, a nurse assured her that her vision was okay, and she will recover soon.

I moved several metres backwards and photographed the teenager at a more discreet distance.