As the countdown to the high school entrance examination approaches, 40 students from Shuilin Experimental School in Dongguan, Guangdong province, used their after-school time to conduct experiments in the laboratory. Unfortunately, during the impromptu experiment, a fire caused by alcohol led to 6 students sustaining various degrees of burns.
According to reports from Southern Metropolis Daily and other sources, on the morning of May 19th, over 40 third-year students at Shuilin Experimental School in Dongguan conducted a combustion experiment in the chemistry laboratory in preparation for the upcoming high school entrance exam. Due to insufficient preparation and a shortage of alcohol, they brought in a large bucket of alcohol from outside. While pouring the alcohol, some of it accidentally spilled on the laboratory table. One student lit a lighter for fun, igniting the alcohol instantly, which in turn ignited the alcohol container being poured nearby, resulting in 6 students in the front row being burned to varying degrees.
Following the incident, the injured students were rushed to the Southeast Center Hospital for treatment. Doctors diagnosed that 3 students had minor injuries, while 3 students had moderate injuries (second-degree burns).
Yaoyao is one of the students with more severe injuries among the 6 injured students. Mr. Zhang, Yaoyao’s father, stated that when he rushed to the hospital after receiving the call, he saw his daughter with her glasses and legs burnt, her face wrapped in gauze. He mentioned that “her ears and forehead skin were all burned”.
According to the medical records issued by Southeast Center Hospital, Yaoyao suffered second-degree burns on the upper right limb, covering 20%-29% of her body with burns, as well as second-degree burns on the trunk, face, head, neck, left wrist, and hand.
On the morning of May 22nd, Yaoyao and the other 2 students with moderate injuries were transferred to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou for further treatment. According to Mr. Zhang, Yaoyao underwent a third skin graft surgery, where a piece of scalp the size of a palm was transplanted to the area around her armpit. Currently, her right arm remains charred with a blackened appearance.
Based on medical advice, Yaoyao will require a series of medical and cosmetic procedures after her discharge. Whether her skin appearance can fully recover remains uncertain.
Mr. Zhang believes that there were serious safety hazards in the school laboratory, and the teachers lacked safety awareness. They did not provide adequate safety education and training to the students before the experiment, directly distributed lighters to each student, and failed to promptly instruct the students to move away when alcohol spilled, leading to the accident.
In response, the Tangxia Town Education Management Center stated that the school had shortcomings in laboratory safety management, including violations by the teacher, inadequate on-site supervision, failure to promptly notice alcohol spills and students’ improper use of lighters, and ineffective control of the experiment site.
Currently, 4 students have been discharged from the hospital, while the condition of 2 students with more severe injuries requires continued hospitalization. Local education authorities, the school, and the families are still discussing matters related to compensation, students’ academic advancement, and other issues.