Chlorine Gas Leak: A School Incident in Andhra Pradesh

A gas leak occurred affecting the teaching staff as well as 65 students of a school in Andhra Pradesh, of whom 9 became seriously ill. The students were shifted to the nearest hospital. Many were treated on an out-patient basis, while 9 students were admitted for 2 days, and then discharged.

Since the parents were still apprehensive about long-term sequelae arising from the exposure, the district collector directed the district medical and health officer to investigate and take necessary steps. The latter arranged a medical camp involving several medical officers under the guidance of a team of clinical toxicologists and community medical care specialists from a major teaching hospital of the area. Detailed examination and investigations were done, and all the cases were followed up. None went into long-term complications.