19 students ill after inhaling rat repellent fumes in India's Bengaluru

NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 19 nursing students were ill after inhaling fumes from rat repellent sprayed inside their hostel building in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, police said Monday.

The incident took place at the Adarsh Nursing College hostel. According to police, the students experienced breathing problems and nausea on Sunday night because of the rat repellent sprayed by the hostel management.

The students were shifted to a hospital and three of them were critical and were shifted to the intensive care unit of the hospital, a senior police official told media, adding the remaining ones were stable.

Police have registered a case against the hostel management and ordered an investigation into the incident.

Officials said the hostel management had engaged a private person to spray rat poison on the premises to rid the building of rodents. However, soon after the poison was sprayed, its fumes quickly spread throughout the building, leading to the discomfort of students and warranting their immediate hospitalization.