NEW DELHI: Twenty-four students of a municipal school in Delhi's Naraina area were taken ill and hospitalised on Friday following an alleged "gas leak" incident nearby, officials said.
Nineteen students were rushed to the RML Hospital while the rest were sent to the Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital, a senior official of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi told PTI.
"The students fell sick apparently due to some gas leak incident near the school. All students are fine, they are being attended to by doctors at the two hospitals," he said.
Officials from the civic health department rushed to the two hospitals and also to the school, and the education department of the MCD is also on the job, the official added.
"We will be probing at our level too to find out what caused this incident," the senior official said. In a statement issued later, the MCD said, "The gas leak had taken place at the nearby railway tracks".
A team of doctors from the MCD's health department and officials of the education department are also present at the hospital to monitor the situation, it said.
According to police, they received a call regarding some students falling sick and vomiting at the Nigam Pratibha Vidyalaya, Inderpuri.
"As per the information available so far, 23 children have been sent to the hospital. Regular updates are being taken from hospitals and as per the latest update, all of them are feeling fine," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer said.
As per the initial assessment, a foul smell filled some classrooms, which made the children feel sick. Apparently, the children had just eaten.
The smell has subsided, but as a precaution, all classrooms have been vacated, the DCP said.
"Further examination of the premises is being done to ascertain the source of the smell. There is a railway track nearby. However, it is yet to be ascertained where the smell was emanating from," Veer said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva met with the students at RML hospital. He said neither the students nor the teachers were able to say what caused the incident. Sachdeva said MCD should probe the matter.
There were 16 students at the hospital and they were fine, he said.
"The students said they were sitting in their classroom when they got a very strong smell which caused vomiting and unconsciousness," the BJP leader said.
