RAHIM YAR KHAN: Sixteen students of the Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology (KFUEIT) had to undergo treatment in hospitals after an apparatus blast in the laboratory affected them.

The incident occurred in the laboratory of the varsity’s Chemical Engineering Department on June 12 last and the administration allegedly tried to hush up the case.

Sources in the KFUEIT told this correspondent that a group of 22 students of BS chemistry’s fourth semester was performing an experiment in the laboratory without following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

RYK varsity allegedly tried to hush up the matter

“Glasses, masks, gloves and overcoats are essential for the students performing experiments in the laboratory where acids and bases are kept. A senior teacher and laboratory technician are supposed to monitor the students,” they said. They said the students were performing experiments without fulfilling these requirements and suddenly a blast occurred which resulted in splatter of acid on the walls. Sixteen students were affected by the incident, they said.

They said it happened at a time when teams of the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) were visiting the university for its accreditation.

When the matter came to the knowledge of the university administration, it tried to conceal it and did not inform the Rescue 1122 to shift the students to the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) emergency. The officials even warned the students of action if they disclosed the incident to anyone.

The students, sources said, got their treatment from the SZMCH emergency and private facilities.

A student claimed that the experiment went wrong due to casual attitude of the students.

Shazia Sardar, 19, Fazeela, 18, and Rimsha, 18, were brought to the SZMCH emergency for treatment, according to the record of the health facility. Other students, sources said, got their treatment from private hospitals.

KFUEIT Director Media Relations Shahid Khan Durrani said a small lab incident occurred in Biochemistry Lab of Department of Chemistry on June 12 due to human error when a student mixed excluded chemical causing unwanted reaction in 100ml beaker. Three students got minor chemical splashes and were provided immediate first-aid by the medical centre on the campus.

The students were then shifted by the university ambulance to the Shaikh Zayed Hospital for further checkup which was declared satisfactory by staff concerned, he claimed.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2019