Wind-carried tear gas sends 86 students to the hospital

The incident occurred around 11:30 AM in the Kuzeykent neighborhood of Kastamonu city center. According to the information obtained, the smell of gas spreading across the Kastamonu University campus caused panic.

Many students staying at the Şeyh Şaban-ı Veli Student Dormitory sought medical attention at the hospital after being affected by the spreading gas.

Following reports from citizens, health, police, AFAD, UMKE, and gendarmerie teams were dispatched to the area. Some students were also taken to Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital by ambulance.

In a written statement regarding the incident, the Kastamonu Governor's Office announced that the event occurred when wind carried tear gas during the destruction of expired tear gas canisters by the Kastamonu Provincial Gendarmerie Command at a firing range in the area.

"THEY ARE NOT IN LIFE-THREATENING CONDITION"

The statement, which noted that 80 of the 86 students affected by the gas were discharged after receiving necessary interventions, said, "On Wednesday, January 3, 2024, at 11:30 AM, it was reported that some students staying at a male student dormitory of Kastamonu University, located on the Kastamonu-Daday Road, had applied to Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital with complaints of throat and eye irritation.

As a result of the investigation, it was understood that the gas was carried by the wind and affected the students in the dormitory while the Kastamonu Provincial Gendarmerie Command was destroying expired tear gas canisters at a firing range in the area.

Throughout the day, 86 students came to Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital, and 80 of them were treated on an outpatient basis after receiving the necessary interventions. The treatment of 6 students is ongoing, and they are not in any life-threatening condition. These students will also be discharged shortly after their treatment is completed."