Panic gripped a Cooch Behar exam hall when a canteen LPG cylinder exploded, yet zero lives were lost due to razor-sharp emergency response. Details emerge from the Nakkatigach Higher Secondary School scare in Tufanganj-1.
Secondary board exams kicked off routinely for 202 students from three feeder schools. Mid-morning, canteen staff faced a nightmare: sudden ignition of a gas cylinder while boiling tea.
Flames surged, prompting immediate evacuation alerts. Exam center cops didn’t flinch—they physically relocated the volatile cylinder to the field center, battling blaze with improvised wet coverings amid rising danger.
Tufanganj firefighters raced against time, but the cylinder preempted them with a thunderous rupture. Students surged out, desks upturned in the frantic exodus.
High-level officials including SDO Kingsuk Maiti and SDPO Kannedhara Manoj Kumar materialized pronto, surveying damage and counseling rattled teens back to composure. Exams concluded without further hitches.
‘Swift police action averted catastrophe,’ affirmed principal Dulu Basak, noting the fortuitous open-air detonation. Gratitude poured from parents for the flawless containment.
The episode prompts urgent reviews of gas installations in schools. Officials assure stricter compliance, ensuring student safety remains paramount during high-stakes testing periods.