Six students and a midday meal worker sustained severe burns after a pressure cooker exploded at the latter’s house in Tenkalahundi village of Gundlupet taluk on Saturday. Two of the injured are stated to be critical.

According to police, the incident occurred at the house of Manjula, a worker under midday meal scheme at government primary school in Tenkalahundi. She took six students to her house for cooking midday meal when the teachers at the school went out to take part in the elections to taluk primary school teachers’ association.

She readied the pressure cooker, placed it on the stove and began watching television. Soon, the heated cooker exploded spilling hot water all over. All the seven in the house sustained burns in the incident.

The injured students have been identified as Anusha (11) and daughter of Manjula, Jyothi (10), Lakshmi (6), Pavankumar (7), Suchitra (9) and Aishwarya (5). They were rushed to the government hospital by ‘108’ ambulance and later shifted to KR Hospital in Mysuru.

The presidents of Zilla, Taluk Panchayat and Town Municipality and Block Education Officer C N Raju visited the spot. The BEO said that the injured would be paid an ex gratia of Rs 5,000 from Students’ Welfare Fund and an equal sum from Teachers’ Credit Co-operative Society.