In a mysterious incident, six students and some staffers of a private school located in Kengeri collapsed on Wednesday. The management was forced to declare a holiday after rushing them to a nearby hospital.
The incident occurred on Wednesday around 11.30 am when some children from classes 3, 4, 5 and 6 collapsed inside the classroom at Chitrakoota School in Kengeri. The school authorities panicked when more children fainted within a few minutes.
However, the school authorities made arrangements for the medical emergency. They took the children to the nearest hospital and moved the others outside the campus.
According to the school, the children were fine within a few minutes of being shifted to the hospital. As a precautionary step, the school has declared a holiday on Thursday, too.
Chemical, gas leakage?
Though the reasons suspected, including chemical or gas leakage, were denied by the school authorities, the school’s founder-chairman, Chaitanya, said this was due to a pungent smell from the catering unit next door.
“The children and staff were absolutely fine, there was no gas or chemical leakage on the campus. On inquiring, we got to know that it was the pungent tempering smell from the catering unit next door that caused suffocation,” he said.
He said they have told the catering unit to fix a proper exhaust fan and change the direction of the fans.
Though the school denied any other reason for the incident, few parents are not convinced.
“As explained by the principal in a video sent to parents, some children faced breathlessness,” a parent said. “If that is the case, how can the staff at that catering unit survive? Such (pungent) smell will cause discomfort and cough, but not breathlessness”.
A class 6 student said, “I was in class when I suddenly found it difficult to breathe. I informed my teachers. All the students were shifted to the parking lot immediately. We were asked to sit in the school buses. We were afraid and tensed. Some of us were taken to hospital.”
A parents’ meeting has been called on Saturday.
Officials from the Department of Public Instruction were not aware of the incident.