21 Nov 2022

Eleven children, one adult, taken to hospital after explosion at Sydney primary school

7:48 pm on 21 November 2022
Australian police station sign in Sydney NSW Australia

Photo: 123RF

Eleven children from a Sydney primary school have been taken to hospital with burns after a school experiment went wrong.

Two children are in a serious condition after a science experiment exploded at Manly West Public School in Sydney.

Ambulance NSW acting superintendent Philip Templeman said it was meant to be a "fairly routine science experiment."

But the wind blew chemicals around, triggering a "bigger reaction than expected".

One child was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries, another was taken to the hospital after sustaining serious burns, while nine more students were in hospital with superficial injuries.

Templeman said the children sustained burns to the upper body, chest, face and legs, but majority of the students were not seriously injured.

An adult also received superficial burns in the incident.

The ABC understands that the children were all aged around 10 and 11-years-old from Year 5.

Australia education minister Sarah Mitchell said she had offered her support to the school's principal and would be providing counselling services for students and staff.

"Investigations into the incident will be undertaken by the relevant authorities, including the Department of Education and NSW Police," she said in a statement.

"In addition, SafeWork NSW has been notified and they will carry out their own investigation in due course."

A spokesperson for Fire and Rescue NSW said the "explosion" occurred outdoors.

Specialist firefighters were securing the site, as authorities investigated the cause of the blast.

Australian Channel 9news said the experiment in question was mixing sodium bicarbonate and methylated spirits.

- ABC / RNZ