Umbilo school gas scare: Expert calls for clinic on premises
Six children were taken to hospital after several pupils and a teacher experienced breathing difficulties at Umbilo Secondary School on Thursday.
An environmental activist has called for on-site health checks on pupils at a school in the south of Durban after a suspected gas leak.
Learning came to a halt at Umbilo Secondary School on the Bluff following the incident on Thursday.
Several students and at least one teacher experienced breathing difficulties and had panic attacks.
It is believed that some of them may have inhaled a gaseous substance.
Six children were taken to hospital.
Desmond D’Sa warns lives are at risk
Desmond D'Sa, from the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, says children’s lives are at risk.
"They must put together a health clinic on the school premises where the children can get proper assessment, respiratory assessment. They must be heart assessments and they must do everything.
“Qualified people who have all the equipment and the medication to give the children. So, if they diagnose that they children have medication and don't need to pay for it."
He has called for a thorough investigation.
"These companies must stop victimising the community, people who speak out and the government must act in favour of whistleblowers. Whistleblowers are such an important part in this country. No company should be given the right to go and shut down and to get whistleblowers."
Community reaction and concerns
Parents and other community members want authorities to urgently find the source of the suspected gas leak.
Newswatch was at the scene and spoke to some parents and other locals.
Resident Mervin Damas said that he was at home when a woman ran past screaming.
"A lady was walking with a child screaming that there was a gas leak by the Umbilo school. I saw a lot of children sitting on the floor, and some were lying down."
Some parents said they arrived at the school to collect their children and were met with chaos.
One man was called to fetch his niece.
"She was crying, being hysterical, and we took her home. She's okay,” he told Newswatch.
Zalita Kruger, who lives directly across the road from the school, said she saw pandemonium.
She has a child at the school and says her son has a heart condition, but fortunately, he was not affected. She said that she could also smell the fumes entering her home.
"My throat is burning, my eyes are burning up, and I have a four-and-a-half-month-old baby who's got pneumonia."
Investigations are underway to identify the substance and its source.
Authorities are investigating air pollution and safety concerns at the school.
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