Gas leak affects 11 Gomtipur school kids

Around 11 students of St Joseph High School, Gomtipur had to rush to the open ground of the school after leakage of poisonous gas made them nauseous with some of them even reporting suffocation.

Parents, who had come to the school during the break time, found their children running helter-skelter in an effort to breathe fresh air.

This is the second time that students of the school are complaining about the mysterious gas that made several of them ill.

A similar incident was reported two years ago. A few minutes before the secondary section was to get its lunch break, students rushed outside their classrooms complaining of some foul smelling gas.

"My child studies in this school and when I came to pick her up I found several students complaining of suffocation and severe headache. Some of them were also hurriedly rushing down the stairs to escape the smell," said a parent.

Another parent and social worker Anil Rathod said a similar incident had occurred in 2009 following which 11 students had to be admitted to LG Hospital.

According to the parents children complained of suffocation after they inhaled the leaking toxic gas.

They have blamed the nearby gold and silver bhatthis (kilns) for the poisonous gas.

The kilns are situated 200 metres away from the school premises.

"Besides complaining of severe headache, suffocation, students also reported vomiting, giddiness and in few cases nose bleeding. We immediately called the public health officer and District Education Officer (DEO) and deputed a van outside the school in case of an emergency. As a result, the principal announced a half-day for the students," said parent Tarun Makwana.