Bomb disposed near school, 50 students fall ill

Jalpaiguri: Around 50 students were today rushed to hospital after they fell sick from the deafening sound and noxious fumes of a bomb that was defused near a school building in Coochbehar district, police said.

The students were taken to Haldibari hospital, which then referred about 15 of them to Jalpaiguri hospital, they said.

The children complained of breathlessness and pain in the ears, Chief Medical of Jalpaiguri hospital Jagannath Sarkar said, adding, splinters from the bomb also hit a few of them.

Some of the students at Haldibari hospital were released after they were administered first aid, hospital sources said.

Bomb disposal squad was called in to defuse the explosive, which was lying in an open space adjacent to the school, police said.

An examination was underway in the school when the bomb was being defused.