Gas explosion at Daqahlia school shocks students

Following an explosion as a result of a gas leak at a girls school in Daqahlia governorate, 35 students suffered from suffocation and shock on Tuesday.

Initially, news reports claimed the explosion was the result of a device thrown inside the Manshiyet al-Salam primary school premises. An explosion was heard, smoke was seen rising from inside the school, and five ambulances were deployed to the site of the incident, privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported.

The 35 students were transferred to a nearby hospital and treated for suffocation and panic attacks.

Both the Minister of Education Mahmoud Abul Nasr and the director of the investigations division at the Ministry of Interior, Saeed Emara, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that investigations revealed that the explosion was the result of a gas leak that occurred during a chemical experiment performed at the school’s laboratories.

The school and surroundings were searched and no foreign objects were found, while the lab supervisor was called in for questioning.

Earlier on Tuesday, a crude bomb exploded in Giza by a traffic police kiosk near the Galaa Bridge in Dokki, injuring two policemen. A 23-year-old suspect was apprehended and reportedly claimed to belong to the Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) group, which has previously taken responsibility for a number of attacks in Cairo.

Clashes erupted at Mansoura University in Daqahlia, injuring 10 students, one of whom is in critical condition.

Hundreds of students gathered on campus, chanting against the army and police, and objecting to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s presidential bid. They demanded the release of fellow students being detained on charges of illegal protesting and vandalism.

Security forces stationed outside the university fired teargas at the protest to disperse it and locked down all university entrances to prevent students from leaving the campus.