Gazipur, Sep 9 (bdnews24.com)—Several students of a school adjacent to a Gazipur factory of drug maker Beximco Pharmaceuticals fell sick on Sunday after inhaling gas emitted from the factory.
The factory management claim that it was 'only an accident', but the school authorities said such 'accident' happened several times before.
The authorities of Hajji Kasimuddin Public School at Tongi's Ouchpara have filed a general diary with Tongi Model Police.
Three of the sick students were taken to Tongi Government Hospital after inhaling the toxic gas in the morning. They were SM Noor, 7, Tabib Hasan, 9, and Arif Hossain, 11.
Headmaster M M Helaluddin told reporters that the students smelled the gas emitted from the Beximco factory inside the classrooms around 9am.
After inhaling the gas, the students started to vomit and their eyes started to burn, he complained.
At least 50 students became sick after inhaling the toxic gas, he added.
Residential doctor of the hospital Ismail Hossain Siraji told bdnews24.com: "The patients inhaled gas emitted from smelly raw materials used to make drugs. They are out of danger now. We've released them after treatment."
The headmaster said a general diary had been filed when 10 students had become sick in a similar 'accident' in 2006. "It happened several times," he added.
Tongi Model Police Station Officer in Charge Mohammad Ismail Hossain said they would take steps after investigation.
Factory General Manager Mehbubul Haque told reporters: "We've informed the higher authorities. We are taking measures to avoid such problems in the future."
Claiming that it was 'only an accident', Human Resource Officer of Beximco Mohammad Asaduzzaman told reporters that the accident was due to a leak in a pipe of a unit of the factory.
He said the gas was acetic acid emitted from raw materials.
bdnews24.com/corr/ost/sk/bd/2018h
