Tiruvottiyur school gas leak: Students affected in suspected gas leak stable, discharged

CHENNAI: The two students hospitalised in Government Stanley Medical College Hospital due to a suspected gas leak at Victory Matric Higher Secondary School were discharged after being kept in observation in the toxicology intensive care unit.

Authorities of the hospital said both children are stable, and their other underlying health issues are being followed up.

One of the children is a patient with a thoracic infection that occurred around four years ago.

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Her symptoms worsened due to the infection, which led to difficulty in breathing.

The doctors probed to identify the cause of the symptoms. Based on the other student’s neurology history, her EEG report of the other student is being awaited. She has been put on follow-up care as she has a history of a neurological disorder and has suffered from seizures in the past.

“They are now stable, and symptoms have subsided. We are still unaware of the chemical or the gas that led to the breathing difficulty, unconsciousness and vomiting symptoms in the children. We provided symptomatic treatment to both of them,” said Resident Medical Officer at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital.

The health parameters remained normal after about 12 hours of observation, so the children were discharged from the hospital. The parents have been advised to bring the children to the hospital in case of any exacerbations. The parents of the affected children say that the school authorities should take responsibility for the incident, but they have not even checked in on the condition of the students or offered any compensation.

“They have been telling us that the principal has been asked not to speak to the students’ families. The school management should visit the students and take responsibility for the incident. The chemistry laboratory staff told us they do not know what caused the chaos. It has become a blame game now,” said the parent of an affected student.

Another parent said the school management had declared a holiday on Saturday and did not issue any clarification on the incident or take responsibility for the harm to the students.

“It was irresponsible of the school management to not inform us and send the children directly to the hospital. The teachers who spoke to us said it is most likely that the incident occurred due to gas from some factory nearby. If it is not the school authorities’ fault, they should speak to us directly,” said the mother of an affected child.