Monday 21 November 2022 11:02 PM Manly West Public School experiment: Investigators called in after 11 students ... trends now
Paramedics have detailed the 'chaotic' scene they were called to when 11 children and one teacher were rushed to hospital with burns after a science experiment went 'horribly wrong'.
The experiment, conducted outside using sodium bicarbonate, sugar and methylated spirits, sparked an explosion at Manly West Public School in Balgowlah, on Sydney's northern beaches, at about 1 pm on Monday.
Eleven Year 5 students and a male teacher were injured, with two children suffering severe chemical burns to their chest, upper body, and face.
One child received care from a specialist medical team onboard on an ambulance, while the other was transported via a CareFlight helicopter.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Mark Whittaker and paramedic Madolyn O'meara, said the children were all 'doing well' on Tuesday morning and are on the road to recovery.
An experiment sparked an explosion at Manly West Public School in Balgowlah, in Sydney's northern beaches at about 1pm on Monday, with police and paramedics called to the scene
More than a dozen paramedics and multiple fire and rescue crews attended the scene in Balgowlah on Monday
Mr Whittaker said he and his team arrived to find 11 children had all suffered 'varying degrees of burn severity', with two rushed to Westmead Children's Hospital in serious conditions.
'I think it was quite a chaotic scene initially,' the ambulance inspector said.
'This is completely foreign to them.
'They were caught unaware, and the teachers did an amazing job corralling all students into the areas that they needed to be, and relocating all the patients to an area where they could receive treatment to cool down their burns.
'That was fantastic for us, all our patients were very close
