Silverio Omari
Five students sitting for their KCSE exams at Makande Girls Secondary School in Mombasa were rushed to the hospital Thursday morning after experiencing breathing difficulties before their first paper. The students had reportedly inhaled a hydrocarbon gas, commonly used in paint, though the source of the leak was not immediately identified.
The incident forced the other 84 candidates to relocate to the nearby Makupa Boys High School to continue their exams. Mombasa County’s Chief Fire Officer, Ibrahim Basafar, stated that they received an urgent call from Urban Police Chief Maxwell Agoro about the gas leak at approximately 7:15 a.m.
Fortunately, the affected students are reported to be in stable condition. Mombasa Governor Nassir Abdulswamad is expected to address the media on the matter, and Education CS Julius Ogamba plans to visit the school following his appearance at the Kepsha conference.
Earlier, a multi-agency response team was deployed to handle the incident at Makande Girls. “The gas levels have now dropped to non-hazardous levels,” Basafar confirmed.
The five students were taken to Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital after nearly fainting. Basafar added, “We are also keen to identify the source of the gas to prevent future incidents. It is unfortunate that this occurred during the students’ final exams.”
Dj Vnyash
