Australia: Three hospitalised after chemical explosion at Sydney university

Sydney, Oct 15
Three people have been hospitalised after a chemical explosion at the University of Sydney on Tuesday.

Fire and Rescue New South Wales (NSW) said in a statement that emergency crews were called to the University of Sydney Sports Aquatic Center in the inner-city suburb of Darlington at around 10 a.m. (local time) on Tuesday after receiving reports of a person suffering from chemical burns, reports Xinhua news agency.

Three people -- one university staff member and two bystanders -- were impacted by a chemical reaction that occurred when acid-based chemicals were being moved for disposal.

The male staff member - who News Corp Australia newspapers reported was carrying the chemicals in a bucket at the time of the incident - was taken to hospital with burns to his hands, with the other two also taken to hospital as a precaution.

"There was a chemical reaction between two products on the site," NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry told reporters.

"Everyone is stable and ok," he said.

Firefighters set up an exclusion zone around the site and called for a specialist HAZMAT crew to assist with the incident.

The area was secured and analysed before being decontaminated and declared safe.

NSW Fire and Rescue said that SafeWork and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) have been informed of the incident.

The university said it was grateful there were no serious injuries as a result of the incident but advised students who were in the area to monitor for symptoms and seek medical advice if they start to experience itchy skin or eyes or irritation to their respiratory tract.