Jamtara, Sep 20 (PTI) Sixteen students of a residential school in Jharkhand’s Jamtara district suffered breathing distress after smoke due to an electrical short-circuit filled their hostel room, an official said on Saturday.
The incident occurred at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, a residential school for tribal girls, in Narayanpur block, on Friday evening, he said.
The 16 students who faced breathing problems were taken to a community health centre and were released soon after primary treatment, Jamtara Deputy Commissioner Ravi Anand told PTI.
“They faced a problem in their hostel room due to the smoke emitted from an electrical short circuit after a transformer near the school caught fire due to lightning on Friday evening. The fire was, however, doused by locals. The students were taken by the school warden and locals to the nearest community health centre and were later released,” the deputy commissioner said.
The students panicked due to smoke and fire, and their cries had drawn local people and school officials, who evacuated them from the rooftop using a ladder, another official said.
The deputy commissioner also ordered a probe into the incident.
“A team under additional collector Jamtara (Punam Kachyap) will probe into the fire and suggest steps to prevent such incidents in future. We will also conduct an audit of electrical wiring in all residential government schools in the district,” the deputy commissioner said.
Jamtara district education officer Charles Hembrom said that there were a total of 450 girl students in the hostel.
“Out of them, 16 panicked and started coughing heavily due to the smoke and were taken to the hospital and later discharged in the night,” he added. PTI ANB BDC
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