10 Hong Kong students hurt as self-heating hotpot pack explodes in classroom
Police received report from St Paul’s Co-educational College that self-heating hotpot pack exploded after being improperly heated
Ten students from an elite secondary school in Hong Kong were injured or experienced ringing in their ears after a self-heating hotpot pack exploded in a classroom on Wednesday.
A police spokesman said officers received a report from St Paul’s Co-educational College in Mid-Levels at 3.29pm that a self-heating hotpot pack had exploded after being improperly heated.
A source said a 15-year-old boy was preparing the hotpot pack at about 1pm when he poured hot water onto it, and it exploded.
Six boys and four girls, aged between 15 and 16, were taken to hospital.
Two students – the 15-year-old boy, who reported burns to his left wrist and chest, and a 15-year-old girl who complained of eye discomfort – were sent to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam.
The other eight students – three girls and five boys who reported tinnitus, commonly described as a ringing in the ears – were sent to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, according to the source.