No fewer
than 13 students yesterday collapsed suddenly at Ogba Junior Grammar School in
Lagos after inhaling gaseous emission from unknown chemical at the school
premises.
The incident occurred about five months after about 25 students in the same school became unconscious after inhaling similar emission, which the Lagos State Government is yet to unravel.
It was gathered that the latest incident occurred around 1p.m., when students in one of the classes were suddenly overwhelmed with gaseous emission and started collapsing one after the other.
The affected students, who included 12 girls and one boy, were identified as follows: Memuna Tijani, Subeadat Oladokun, Taiwo Adebiyi, Rodiat Muiz, Omolade Ogunbami, Blessing Onaigbe, Karimot Akiyode, Modupe Idowu and Rasak Gbolahan.
A source in
the school said that the students had been admitted at the Surgical Emergency
Ward, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and were responding to
treatment.
But the source said one of the victims was in critical condition.
Other students fled the class immediately, a development which caused pandemonium among the students, teachers and others in the school.
But the source said one of the victims was in critical condition.
Other students fled the class immediately, a development which caused pandemonium among the students, teachers and others in the school.
It was
gathered that the incident compelled the school authority to order other
students to vacate the premises immediately and the school shut down.
According to
checks, the gaseous substance emanated from the administrative block of the
school sharing the same fence with the Ogba Shopping Mall, which housed several
small scale companies, shops and a new generation bank.
Officials of
the Lagos Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA), Lagos Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS), Lagos State Environmental
Protection Agency (LASEPA), Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit
(SEHMU) and the Nigeria Police were at the scene to rescue victims of the
gaseous emission.
LASAMBUS
officials quickly evacuated the fainted students and rushed them to LASUTH for
treatment, while everyone was evacuated from the school.
Officials of
LASEPA were seen at the school’s premises carrying out investigation to unravel
the type of chemical contaminant emitted into the school environment.
The Ogba
Shopping Mall, housing several shops, companies and Ecobank Nigeria Plc was
shut down by LASEMA officials while hundreds of people working in the shopping
complex were evacuated from the complex.
The gaseous substance was also perceived by some people at the shopping complex.
A legal practitioner, Joshua John, whose chamber is in the mall, said he perceived the gaseous substance, which made his breathing irregular, saying that they were evacuated from the premises of the mall to avoid casualty, noting that nobody was affected at the mall.
LASEMA General Manager, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said 13 of the affected students taken to LASUTH were responding to treatment, saying that the rescue operation was swift and prompt.
He confirmed that the students “are responding to treatment very well, but however, we have condoned off the school and the building associated with that area. Why we are doing that is to allow us carry out risk assessment and analysis on the place. We are appealing to our people not to panic that the state is on top of the challenges.
“What we are doing is that we are carrying out an operation and after we might have carried out the operation, we will go into specific and compare issues with what happened the last time when the same thing occur in the same school.
“We try to localise it and we have brought the expert and they are working on it, we brought LASEPA that are experts on this and they are working… They are with us here and at the general hospital. People should remain calm,” the general manager explained.
The gaseous substance was also perceived by some people at the shopping complex.
A legal practitioner, Joshua John, whose chamber is in the mall, said he perceived the gaseous substance, which made his breathing irregular, saying that they were evacuated from the premises of the mall to avoid casualty, noting that nobody was affected at the mall.
LASEMA General Manager, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said 13 of the affected students taken to LASUTH were responding to treatment, saying that the rescue operation was swift and prompt.
He confirmed that the students “are responding to treatment very well, but however, we have condoned off the school and the building associated with that area. Why we are doing that is to allow us carry out risk assessment and analysis on the place. We are appealing to our people not to panic that the state is on top of the challenges.
“What we are doing is that we are carrying out an operation and after we might have carried out the operation, we will go into specific and compare issues with what happened the last time when the same thing occur in the same school.
“We try to localise it and we have brought the expert and they are working on it, we brought LASEPA that are experts on this and they are working… They are with us here and at the general hospital. People should remain calm,” the general manager explained.
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