Kasaragod: Around 50 school students developed breathing difficulties after a faulty generator of a neighbouring government hospital spewed black smoke into their classrooms in Kanhangad on Thursday.
The incident happened at the Little Flower Girls Higher Secondary School, which shares a wall with the Women and Children's Government Hospital in Kanhangad.
The students who fell ill belonged to Class 11 and 12, said a school official. "Initially, 10 students developed breathing difficulties," he said. But the smoke triggered a panic and 50 of the around 100 students of the Classes 11 and 12 felt uneasy and were taken to the same Women and Children's Hospital, he said.
Hospital superintendent Dr Santhosh B said around 12 students were perfectly fine and were sent back. Another 38 students were kept under observation and given first aid. Of them, seven students were shifted to the District Hospital, 3 km away. "They had a history of breathing problems and their parents wanted them to be kept under observation for some more time," he said. But none of the other students had major problems which required putting them on oxygen, he said.
But PTA president Basheer Arangadi countered Dr Santhosh and said all students where put on oxygen.
He said a lot of parents rushed to the school after they learnt about the smoke. "We came to know students had collapsed," he said. Since Women and Children's Hospital had no adequate doctors, the District Medical Officer sent a few doctors from the District Hospital to attend to the children, he said.
Arangadi said the hospital's 164-kV generator was installed without adhering to any safety features. The exhaust pipe of the generator should have been positioned at a safe height and directed upwards into the air, he said. "But here the exhaust pipe was facing the classroom," he said. Arangadi, however, said such an incident had not happened before.
Hospital superintendent Dr Santhosh said that the new genset was automatic and was serviced one week ago. Thursday morning, the power was erratic, and the machine ran for an extended time. "But we did not know of the smoke issue until students came from the school," he said.
Dr Santhosh said the new model of genset did not require an extended exhaust pipe. "But since it developed a snag today, we have informed the technician in Kozhikode. The Hospital Management Committee chaired by Kanhangad Municipal chairperson K V Sujatha has decided to hire a new genset till the faulty one was repaired. "We will also be extending the exhaust pipe to avoid problems in the future," said the superintendent.