School's out as foul stench hits classes

Twenty-one students from a secondary school and one from a primary school in Sheung Shui were left reeling after a foul stench wafted into classrooms.

Students from Fung Kai No 1 Secondary School on Jockey Club Road were hit by the smell around 10 am yesterday as they were having classes as usual.

“The smell was pungent to noses and throats, causing some of our students and teachers to suffer runny noses and discomfort in throats,” principal Wong Tsangcheung said.

The school auditorium was used as a temporary refuge for around 70 students and staff.

“We called for Fire Services and ambulances immediately,” Wong said. “Twenty-two students needed check-ups in hospital.”

Eleven boys aged from 10 to 17 and the same number of girls from 12 to 17 were sent to hospitals. Officers listed the case as “odd smell found,” and emergency evacuations were not required.

The 21 students plus a boy from nearby Fung Kai No 1 Primary School were sent to North District Hospital in Sheung Shui, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po and Pok Oi Hospital in Tuen Mun.

Four classes were suspended because of the smell, which lingered until about 1 pm, Wong said. Then classes could resume.

Wong said the students sent to hospitals were fine later, and those who stayed in the school auditorium returned to class not long after the incident.

The school yesterday also sent a notice to parents as they were concerned about the incident.

Firemen conducted an investigation around the campus, but the cause of the stench could not be found.

“The fire services officers said they will keep investigating,” Wong said. “But we don’t know what is was nor where it came from.”

A similar incident happened around 12 months at the secondary school, when a smell from an unknown source affected the campus.

But the smell at that time was said to be different to yesterday’s, which was stronger and caused more discomfort.