Several children injured in explosion at school
Several children have been injured following an explosion at a primary school in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Eight ambulances and two helicopters rushed to Manly West Public School about 1 pm on Monday following reports of an explosion in a science class.
Eleven children aged around 10 years old in year 5 and one adult were impacted by the “Hazmat incident”.
The children were tasked to lighting baking soda and sugar alight using an accelerant which then exploded due to high winds.
One girl suffered multiple burns to her body and was treated by CareFlight’s specialist doctor before being airlifted to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in a stable condition.
Another child suffered severe burns and is being treated by a specialist medical team for serious burns.
Five other children were taken to Royal North Shore Hospital and another four were taken to Northern Beaches Hospital with superficial burns.
“We received multiple triple-0 calls reporting that a number of children had sustained burns during a science experiment, which was being conducted outside,” NSW Ambulance acting superintendent Phil Templeman said.
“Today’s high winds have impacted the experiment and blown some of the materials around.
“The children have sustained burns to the upper body, chest, face and legs; thankfully, the majority of the students were not badly injured.”
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell offered support to the school, children and their families.
“My thoughts are with the students and staff affected by today’s incident at Manly West Public School,” Ms Mitchell said.
“I have spoken with the Principal this afternoon to offer my support to the entire school community, and I want to particularly thank and acknowledge all of the school staff who acted so quickly to provide first aid and call emergency services.
“We will provide whatever resources the school community needs in the coming days, including counselling for students and staff.
“Investigations into the incident will be undertaken by the relevant authorities, including the Department of Education and NSW Police. In addition, SafeWork NSW has been notified and they will carry out their own investigation in due course.“
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet also offered support to the school, tweeting: “My thoughts are with all the students and staff at Manly West Public School after the horrible accident today.
“I’ve spoken to the principal and expressed my thanks to her for the actions of all involved in supporting the students and staff who were hurt.
“We will provide the school with all the support and services they need, including providing counselling services from tomorrow.”
Image: Nine News