Tamworth pupils taken to hospital after explosion

May 1 2008 By Emma Cullwick

SEVEN pupils were taken to hospital and two teachers were treated by paramedics after a bottle containing a potent chemical exploded during a chemistry lesson at a Midland school.

Firefighters, paramedics and police were called to Queen Elizabeth’s Mercian School, in Ashby Road, Tamworth, after teachers raised the alarm at around 4.20pm yesterday.

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "The crews were told two teachers were opening a bottle of Silicone Tetrachloride when it exploded.

"The teachers began to experience throat irritation from the effects of breathing in the fumes."

He said paramedics treated the two teachers at the scene while the seven pupils, all sixth form students aged 17 or 18, were taken by non-emergency ambulances to Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield.

"Although the students showed no symptoms, they were in the room at the time the bottle exploded and were taken to the hospital as a precaution," he said.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police added: "A number of students had been working late with teachers in the science lab when a bottle of chemical had been broken, exposing the seven students and two teachers to the chemical.

"At the time of the incident, the school was largely empty and only the small group working in the lab had been affected.

"It’s not believed that any of the students or teachers had been seriously injured and staff at the school had contacted the parents of the pupils affected."

He said firefighters from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were brought in to decontaminate the area, with the support of police and paramedics.