UMBILO Secondary School had to be evacuated earlier today after pupils and teachers experienced breathing difficulties, seizures and collapsed after an alleged “highly toxic gas leak from a neighbouring chemical company affected pupils.
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UMBILO Secondary School had to be evacuated earlier today after pupils and teachers experienced breathing difficulties, seizures and collapsed after an alleged “highly toxic gas leak from a neighbouring chemical company affected pupils.
A classroom was set up as an emergency room to treat the pupils and teachers, who were allegedly running around in a panic-stricken state while trying to get away from the smell and effects of the gasses.
The officers of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) had also been evacuated due to the gasses which spread through the air with the wind.
Desmond D’Sa, founder of SDCEA, said they were at the school soon after gas had affected the pupils.
“We noticed that the smell of resin and dowtherm, a chemical that is emitted when companies heat up their boilers, filled the air at around 9am.
“The smell is a sweet-sour smell and can quickly affect your breathing once inhaled. The smell was terrible and we closed our offices. I then got a call from the principal of Umbilo Secondary School regarding their pupils and teachers being sick due to the smell.
“I rushed to the school and the situation was bad. There were lots of children affected by the gasses. Many of them had collapsed. Paramedics were quick and thankfully there were no deaths,” D’Sa added.
He said resin and dowtherm were toxic and could have led to deaths, and companies responsible for the emissions needed to be held accountable.
“The emissions were from a company in the Jacobs area. Whichever company it came from must be held accountable by the City and the Department of Health (DOH).
“We had to make numerous calls to the DOH for them to come out. They are still not taking us seriously. We have cried out for them to put an end to the toxic gas emissions, but our cries have fell on deaf ears.
“The companies in Jacobs are not coming out with the truth. The companies who produce these gasses need to be investigated, held accountable and be prosecuted for their actions,” added D’Sa.
He said the SDCEA air quality testing officer would begin his investigations, and they urged the City to send a team of experts to investigate.
Amawele Emergency Services spokesperson, Claude Subramodey, said they were met with chaos when they reached the school.
“Children were running around screaming. They could not breathe, and some had seizures and were on the floor. We started treating the most serious pupils first while we set up a classroom as a treatment centre.
“We had to give pupils and teachers oxygen. Different ambulance services then transported the serious cases to various hospitals. Most of the parents were at the school, and the school had to be evacuated,” he added.
Subramodey said he transported four children to hospital.
Garrith Jamieson, spokesperson for ALS Paramedics, said they transported about eight pupils to hospital.
“We treated about 20 pupils and teachers. The fire department was also present to ensure the school was safe for emergency responders,” he added.
D’Sa said it was unclear when the school would reopen.