Science Experiment Goes Wrong, 8 Kerala Students Suffer Burns

Photo used for representational purposes

Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

A science exhibition in Kerala turned potentially deadly, as eight students suffered 10 percent burns. The incident happened during a “fire without matches” science fun demo at an exhibition at the NSS College near Parassala on Tuesday.

Out of the eight students who were injured, four were class five students from a nearby Government High School, while four were from NSS College, reports Deccan Chronicle.

The injured students were rushed to SAT hospital, and four other students from the college suffered minor rashes, reports Deccan Chronicle.

Burns are not severe, but the students will have to remain in the hospital for three or four days to prevent the spread of infection from the wounds.

Orassana Kumar, Medical College coordinator

The injured school students are Roshan, Lijeesh, Anu Abraham and Krishna Varun. The hospital officials also said that the children had suffered 10 percent burns, reports New Indian Express.

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According to the Deccan Chronicle report, the school students were watching the fire trick organised by the college students and the faculty of Chemistry department when the incident occurred.

The mishap reportedly occurred after the addition of excess of sulphuric acid to potassium permanganate crystals stored in a jar.

The students were demonstrating the flammable property of the two compounds as they came into contact in an open jar, reports Deccan Chronicle.

I am sad that the science with fun experiment caused a flutter, injuring and inconveniencing the students. Will be more careful next time.

Dr K Mohan Kumar, NSS college principal

He also added that he was greatly relieved that the children escaped with minor injuries, and this was completely unacceptable as different departments at the college regularly organise science experiments to educate students about everyday science.

A retired Chemistry professor from CET expressed concern over the potential dangers in conducting such experiments carelessly. He said that the incident once again showed the potential for danger when such experiments are handled by inexperienced hands, and were therefore better avoided at exhibitions.

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(The article was originally published on The News Minute.)