Six students of Hazi Kachhim Uddin Public School in the capital's Tongi were hospitalised yesterday when they fell seriously ill after inhaling toxic gas discharged from a factory of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Engineer MM Helal Uddin, headmaster of the school, said after gas from an adjacent Beximco Pharma factory spread all over the school, several students were complaining of stinging pain in their eyes and started vomiting yesterday morning.

Of the sick students, SM Noor, 7, Tajul Islam, 10, Tabib Hasan, 9, Sin thia, 9, Arif Hossain, 11 and Sharifa Aktar, 8, were admitted to a government hospital, added the headmaster.

The headmaster also claimed that the same type of incident occurred in 2006 when 10 students had fallen sick.

Helal Uddin said although they have complained repeatedly to the factory authorities regarding the matter, nothing has been done so far to address the situation.

A general diary was lodged with Tongi Police Station.

When asked, Md Asaduzzaman, human resources officer of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said it was only an accident.

“We have a paracetamol production plant adjacent to the school,” he said, adding that the gas was emitted after a leakage occurred during production.

Mehbubul Haq, general manager of the factory, admitted to the gas emission and said they have already informed higher authorities regarding the matter.