Maritime college evacuates 600 students after chlorine leak

Fourteen students from Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Advanced Maritime Studies and Research Institute were among those admitted to JJ Hospital on Wednesday with symptoms of breathlessness and irritation in the eyes.

The students were sleeping on the first floor dormitory of the college hostel which is located near Haji Bunder where the leak occurred. The students were given oxygen to stabilise their breathing, and saline to wash their eyes. “They are doing fine and will be discharged soon,” said the doctors at the hospital.

“I was studying for today’s exam when I felt a burning sensation in my eyes. I woke other students up and we called our faculty and some sailors who live near the campus for help. They rushed us to the hospital,” said Saket Sandilya, 19, a second-year student at the college. “About 36 students stay on the first floor. We had gone to sleep, but all of a sudden, all five of us in my room woke up coughing,” said Joy Oliver, another student.

Soon after the leak, the management of the institute asked its nearly 600 residential students to evacuate the campus.

The students see the management diktat as a boon in disguise as most were suffering from water borne diseases due to the contaminated water being supplied to the college since the last few days.