An LPG cylinder exploded at the canteen of Nakkatigach Higher Secondary School in Cooch Behar district on Monday, when over 200 students were writing down the Madhyamik exam.
The school in the Tufanganj 1 block is the Madhyamik exam centre of 202 Class X students from Balabhut High School, Balabhut Vidyasaga Vidyapith, and Krishnapur High School. Prompt action by police and administration brought the situation under control, and the examination ended without further problems.
The LPG cylinder caught fire at the canteen while tea was being prepared. The flames spread rapidly. The police personnel deployed at the examination centre immediately intervened and dragged the burning cylinder out of the building to an open field.
Attempts were made to douse the fire using wet sacks, but the situation remained uncontrollable.
The fire department was alerted, but before fire tenders could arrive, the cylinder exploded. Terrified by the blast, the candidates rushed out of the examination halls into the field.
Soon, senior officials of the subdivisional administration and the police reached the school. They took a stock of the situation, and then, the students were reassured that they could continue writing their papers.
“The cylinder suddenly caught fire. It was because of the prompt intervention of the on-duty police personnel that it could be shifted to the open field to avert a major disaster. There has been no injury,” said Dulal Basak, the acting headmaster of the school.
“Initially, there was panic, but soon, normality was restored. The students returned to their seats then,” he added.