Seven children hospitalised after being exposed to chemical substance in a school lab

Seven children have been hospitalised after being exposed to a chemical substance in a laboratory of a school in Dambulla.

Among the hospitalized students, five are boys and two are girls. They have been admitted to the Dambulla Base Hospital.

According to police, the students affected are in the seventh grade and the school laboratory had been broken into during the recent school holidays, with some items stolen from the lab.

The children had mistakenly assumed a red-colored substance scattered on the floor of the laboratory was chili powder and tasted it, police said.

However, preliminary investigations revealed that the substance was a chemical used for detecting iron.

The children are currently receiving medical treatment, and further investigations underway.