TOKYO: A total of 31 students were sent to hospital after a student mistakenly sprayed tear gas at a South Korean school in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on Tuesday morning, local authorities said.

The 31 students were among 38 students who complained of sore eyes and other symptoms after the incident. None of them were said to be seriously injured.

Police received an emergency call reporting the incident around 9:55 a.m.

A first-year student in the junior high school division of Tokyo Korean School released a tear gas spray that another student had in a classroom during a break, and students in the classroom and the corridor complained of symptoms, police sources said.

Many ambulances came to the school after the incident, as well as parents and others, who were watching the situation in front of the school gate.

A third-year high school student said that the school’s public address system urged students to stay away from the classroom where the incident occurred. “I can’t believe this happened,” he said.

The school, which comprises the elementary school, junior high school and high school divisions, has a total of 1,420 students, according to its website. It is located about 2 kilometers northeast of JR Shinjuku Station.

JIJI Press