Five students taking their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams at Makande Girls Secondary School in Mombasa were rushed to hospital on Thursday morning after inhaling a toxic hydrocarbon gas. The incident occurred just before the start of their first exam paper, sending shockwaves through the school and the larger Mombasa community.
The students, who were part of a group of candidates sitting for their final exams, reportedly began to feel unwell and struggled to breathe shortly before 7:15 a.m. The gas, which was later identified as a hydrocarbon substance, caused the students to experience difficulty breathing, dizziness, and near-fainting. The compound is commonly used in the production of paints and solvents, and its toxic fumes can be extremely dangerous when inhaled in confined spaces.
The gas leak’s origin remains unclear, but the distress call to emergency services came from Maxwell Agoro, the Urban Police Boss in Mombasa, who reported the leak. The Mombasa County Fire and Rescue team, led by Chief Ibrahim Basafar, responded swiftly to the scene, arriving at the school at around 7:15 a.m. Within moments, the affected students were immediately transported to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital for medical attention.
The students are currently reported to be in stable condition, and they are said to be out of immediate danger. The fire chief reassured the public that the gas levels had significantly reduced, and the area was no longer a threat. “As we speak now, the gas levels have gone low and no longer poisonous,” said Basafar. However, the incident has raised serious concerns regarding the safety of students and staff in the area.
In the aftermath of the gas leak, the 84 other candidates who were supposed to sit their exams at Makande Girls were forced to relocate to Makupa Boy High School, a nearby institution. This disruption not only caused distress among the candidates but also raised concerns about the preparedness of schools to handle such emergencies during critical exam periods.
Local authorities, including Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, have been closely monitoring the situation. Governor Nassir is expected to address the media about the ongoing investigation and provide updates on the next steps. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, who was attending the Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (KEPSHA) conference, is also anticipated to visit Makande Girls after the conference’s closure to assess the situation personally.
A multi-agency team has already been assembled to investigate the cause of the gas leak and to take action against those responsible. Chief Basafar emphasized the need to identify the source of the gas and ensure that measures are put in place to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. “We would also like to know who is the culprit so as to take action,” Basafar said. “It is just unfortunate that it happened as the students were sitting their final exams.”
The incident has also prompted concerns about the safety protocols in place at schools, especially during critical times like national exams. Parents, teachers, and students alike are calling for a review of safety measures in schools to ensure that such accidents do not happen again. Given the high stakes involved in the KCSE exams, it is vital that exam centers are equipped to respond to emergencies promptly and effectively.
While the situation has now been contained, the psychological impact on the students involved and their peers cannot be ignored. Exams, especially KCSE, are incredibly stressful for students, and such incidents only add to the tension. The five hospitalized candidates, though reported to be in stable condition, are likely to require emotional and psychological support to recover from the trauma of the incident.
In the coming days, further investigations will likely shed light on how the gas leak occurred and whether proper safety protocols were followed. The authorities have vowed to get to the bottom of the matter to ensure that justice is served and that similar incidents are prevented in the future.
As the exam period continues, students and staff alike will be hoping for a safe and incident-free environment, free from any further disruptions.
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