Kandana factory fire: At least 60 students hospitalized after smoke inhalation

At least 60 students have been hospitalized after inhaling toxic smoke from the fire that erupted inside a chemical factory in Kandana this morning (Aug 08).

The smoke had spread across a large area surrounding the factory, causing dozens of students from three nearby schools to fall ill from smoke inhalation.

It is reported that at least 60 students from St. Sebastian’s Balika Maha Vidyalaya, St. Sebastian Girls’ Primary School and St. Sebastian’s Boys Primary College were admitted to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama.

Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) in Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka Army personnel and the residents of the area have rendered assistance to rush the students to the hospital for immediate medical attention.

A fire had broken out inside the factory on Dewa Thotupola Road in Kandana at around 7.30 a.m. today, leaving one person dead.

The deceased was identified as the accountant of the factory, a 50-year-old who was residing in Ganemulla. He had been inside the building when the fire erupted.

The cause of the fire in which the chemical factory was gutted is yet to be ascertained.

The firefighters attached to Gampaha and Kandana fire stations as well as the Sri Lanka Navy Camp in Welisara managed to douse the fire after a two-hour-long joint effort.