Chennai, Oct. 7: Tragedy struck a science exhibition in a school in Salem today when the receptacle of a ?model unit containing gobar gas? exploded, killing a student and injuring another.

Kannan, a Class XII student of farm mechanisms ? a vocational course ? at Neelambal Subramaniyam Matriculation Higher Secondary School, took the full force of the blast on his forehead and died on way to the Mohan Kumaramangalam Government Hospital. His classmate Kalaiarasan has been admitted to a private hospital in Salem and is out of danger, police sources in Salem said.

The mishap took place shortly after the exhibition was inaugurated at the state-aided school, the sources added.

Investigations into the cause of the blast are on. Police said there is a version doing the rounds that some students had been fiddling with the exhibit, thus putting pressure on the receptacle.

The exhibition had to be closed down soon after the incident, the sources said.

Chief minister Jayalalithaa, who is in Hyderabad, has announced an ex gratia of Rs 50,000 to Kannan?s family and Rs 15,000 to Kalaiarasan.