Grozny children may have been poisoned by pepper gas spray
GROZNY. May 17 (Interfax) - One of the causes of the mass poisoning of children in School 17 in Grozny, Chechnya, was pepper gas spray, Radima Dadayeva, senior aide to the Chechen Republic's prosecutor on the observance of the rights of children and youth, told reporters.
"The children could have been poisoned by pepper spray. This is now the main theory. A pepper spray canister was found on the territory of the school. Specialists have already taken air tests. The results will be known tomorrow," she said.
The information on the presence of radiation in the air has not been confirmed, Dadayeva said.
In the meantime, the number of hospitalized students of Grozny School 17 has climbed to 27.
According to earlier reports, 27 people, including 25 students and two teachers, were hospitalize din Grozny after being poisoned with fumes of an unknown substance in the air in Grozny School 17.
The victims are now in stable condition. The relevant services are now working on investigating the incident.
Psychologists from the Emergency Situations Ministry's Main Department for the Chechen Republic are now working with the relatives of the poisoned children.