At least 12 Anatomy students of Osun State University, Osogbo campus collapsed in class on Thursday after inhaling a poisonous substance believed to be carbon dioxide, reports say.
According to The Punch, 300-level Anatomy students were having a lecture in an overcrowded lecture room at the time of the incident.
Many students were said to be sitting on every available material because of lack of seats in order to listen to the lecturer.
Some of the students were said to have sat on an industrial fire extinguisher, which leaked carbon dioxide into the overcrowded room, causing some students to faint.
However, some students said the poisonous substance leaked from a nearby laboratory.
“Some 300 level students were receiving a lecture in Anatomy Department this afternoon when the incident happened.
“The lecture room was overcrowded and some of the students had to squat while one of them sat on an industrial fire extinguisher inside the room.
“I think the student sat on it for about one hour or thereabout and, unknown to him, his weight had exacted pressure on the extinguisher, causing the container to release a heavy concentration of carbon dioxide inside the already stuffy lecture room.
“The students inhaled the leaked carbon dioxide and some of them collapsed and were taken to hospitals outside the campus when the situation was becoming very serious.
“Some of them were taken to Our Lady of Fatima Hospital at Jaleyemi area.
“Some of the students were placed on oxygen but their conditions were stable. One of the affected students, Basirat, has nobody here in Nigeria. Her parents are in Côte d’ Ivoire and we have been praying that nothing bad should happen to any of them,” The Punch quoted a student as saying.
The university authority confirmed the incident, saying about 20 students were affected by the incident and all are in stable condition.