Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Students, adults in hospital after refrigerant leak at school

Dozens of children from a St. Vital school had to go to the hospital Friday after a gas leak sent them to the emergency room.

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority officials said 17 children and five adults from Victor Mager School had to go to the hospital; another 17 children were assessed at the scene by paramedics.

Emergency crews responded at about 11:20 a.m. after a refrigerant gas leaked from a compressor, a city spokesman said. A letter sent home with students warned parents to seek medical help if their kids showed symptoms such as stomach cramps or difficulty breathing.

Trevor Rushak, the father to a Grade 3 student, awaited news outside nearby Dakota Collegiate Friday afternoon.

Rushak’s mother, who works at the school, was sent to the hospital.

The school was evacuated after the leak, with those who needed to go to the hospital taken to Health Sciences Centre's emergency department on special buses.

Each bus had a respiratory therapist, a nurse and a doctor on board to check the children over.

Six children were admitted to the hospital for observation; the rest were treated and released.

All were in stable condition Friday afternoon, said Health Sciences Centre spokeswoman Katherine Fox.

The kids who went to the hospital were about 10 to 12 years old, she said.

City spokesman Steve West said the leak was "quickly stopped," and crews were clearing the scene Friday afternoon.

He said the cause of the problem was a "refrigerant gas (that) had leaked from a compressor."

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca

History

Updated on Friday, June 29, 2012 at 2:35 PM CDT: adds video

5:37 PM: Updates throughout

6:57 PM: Fixes headline

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