KARACHI: Over 12 students of a community school for poor children fell unconscious and some others semi-unconscious after they inhaled smoke of a generator in Lyari on Monday, officials said.

Some 14 affected students were rushed to the emergency section of the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi where eight were kept in the paediatric emergency room and two in the main emergency section while the remaining four were discharged after the first aid.

The others were also said to be out of danger and likely to be discharged after being kept under observation.

City SSP Shabbir Ahmed Sethar said the children, aged between nine to 16 years, including girls, fainted because of continuous inhalation of fumes of the generator inside HMK Public School in Moosa Colony, Nayabad, Lyari.

According to an initial probe, over 200 children were present in the school when the generator was running due to a power outage in the area and its fumes filled the classrooms as there was no adequate ventilation, and as result the students fell unconscious.

Taking notice of the incident, Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah has asked the Directorate of Private Education to start an inquiry into the matter and submit a report soon.

According to Directorate of Private Education additional director Rafia Javed, the school is being fined over the incident.

Some reports say HMK Public School was not registered with the Directorate of Private Schools and working as a non-governmental organisation. There was no proper arrangement for ventilation in the classrooms there.

The school has been fined Rs180,000. The building was also sealed by the Sindh government.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2022