200 students hospitalised after gas leak near school in Indian capital

About 200 students from a government-run school in the Indian capital city were hospitalised Saturday following a gas leak from a container in the vicinity, China''s Xinhua news agency reported officials as saying.

The incident took place at Rani Jhansi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya near Railway colony in Tughlakabad area.

Police suspect the gas leak from a depot located near the school.

"I have talked to authorities who are on the spot to monitor the situation and doctors who are attending the students at three different hospitals. Everything is under control and all the students are out of danger," local government minister Manish Sisodia told media. "The school shares a boundary wall with a depot and it is said that a gas leak in the area has spread to the school."

No casualties were reported in the incident.

According to the school authorities, they informed police and administration immediately after a number of students complained of breathlessness and irritation in eyes.

The gas leak was detected around 7.30am local time when morning assembly and some class work were going on inside the school.

"We have evacuated all the students from the school and some have been taken to hospital for a check up," a police official monitoring the incident told Xinhua. "The students complained of irritation in the eyes and throats."

Hospital authorities said some of the students who were relieved from the hospital after treatment were brought back by the anxious parents.

Apart from police and fire service officials, teams from the National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, have reached the location to control the leak.

Reports said the gas leaked is said to be Chloromethyl Pyridine, a chemical used in manufacturing insecticides and pesticides.

A local media report said a truck parked in the area and suspected to be filled with the gas has been removed from the spot by police. - BERNAMA