No toxic substance found at 139th public school
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, June 5
Several pupils in the fifth grade aged 10 became unwell during the lesson in Tbilisi Public School 139 on May 3.
The children had signs of intoxication: general weakness, dizziness and vomiting.
They were taken to the hospital and the school was evacuated due to poisoning threat by police officers.
Tbilisi City Hall rescue workers examined the whole building, especially the Chemistry room, where they did not find any toxic substances.
They also examined the personal belongings of the pupils and concluded that the school is absolutely safe.
After appropriate researches, the doctors excluded any kind of poisoning amongst the children.
According to the Department of Public Relations of Iashvili Clinic, one child fainted because of low sugar level in blood. The others had hysterical reactions and panicked.
The Headmistress of School 139, Natia Pkhaladze, stated that all the children have already been discharged from the hospital and are feeling well.
She stated that the Tbilisi City Hall rescue squad has finished working on the territory of the school and concluded that the building is safe.
“The school is absolutely safe and from now the educational process will continue in the usual way,” said the Headmaster.
The Minister of Health Davit Sergeenko made a comment concerning the incident. He also confirmed that there are no signs of any toxic substances at the school and that the children are safe.
According to the Education Minister Tamar Sanikidze, the incident was caused by pre-exam anxiety.
“The children were nervous about the school exams and this caused the symptoms of vomiting and lack of air among them. We took them to hospital, checked them and fortunately there is nothing wrong with them,” stated Sanikidze.
