HYDERABAD: The gas that caused more than 40 students of Kasturba Gandhi Women’s college in Secunderabad to fall ill on Friday came from a bottle with some chemical substance that was in the garbage, confirmed the Clues team that investigated the incident. As many as 29 students, who fell ill after inhaling poisonous gas in the college campus, were undergoing treatment at Geetha Nursing Home. Some 10-15 students will be discharged by the end of the day, the hospital authority said.
Some of the students are still experiencing symptoms such as persistent headaches and stomach pain. Some even shared that it feels like their nerves are shrinking. IV fluids are being administered to help them recover.
On Friday at around 1:30 pm, the students smelled a pungent smell. After which some started vomiting and experienced dizziness. “While having snacks with friends, I suddenly felt something in my throat and started coughing. I was not able to breathe well,” said G Bhanushrio, a second-year student. She was on the second floor with others. “We don’t know where the gas started and how it reached us. We rushed to the principal’s office as we thought that a girl was having a seizure as she fell on the floor,” she added.
The government departments concerned, including police, Clues team, fire and medical service came to the college and inspected the entire building including checking of CCTV footage. In a notice issued in this regard by BP Chakravarthy, Secretary and Correspondent for the college said that the police did not find any cause for the poisonous gas or lapse in safety measures in the college.
“It was later identified that the fumes were coming from outside the college premises from a garbage dump adjacent to the college compound wall,” the note said. GHMC garbage remover who was clearing the garbage accidently broke the bottle that resulted in the emission of the gas.