Kepnock High student flown with severe burns after explosion

Cafe workers and bystanders have helped ease the excruciating pain of a severely burnt boy after he ran screaming towards them following an explosion in a nearby public drain. Watch the video:

A 12-year-old boy was flown to Brisbane from Bundaberg on Wednesday after suffering burns to much of his body in a shocking incident in a public drain near a local shopping centre.

The Year 7 Kepnock State High School student was playing in the drain near the Kepnock Town Centre about 8.30am with a group of other students - with sparklers and aerosol cans - when the incident occurred.

While it was hard to determine exactly how it happened, eye witnesses have reported the 12-year-old running into a local cafe screaming in pain after an aerosol can purportedly blew up and the burning chemical landed on his body and in his hair, leaving him with severe burns.

Bystanders heard the screams as he ran towards the shopping centre.

A 12-year-old boy is in an induced coma in Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital following an explosion near a regional drain that left him with burns to most of his body.

One bystander said she was at Café 63 when she saw it happen.

She and other people helped the boy by placing him in the cafe’s sink, hosing him down, and administering first aid until professional help arrived.

Cafe 63 employee, Preston, said the student sought refuge at the cafe. He said he saw him with a group of people and let him sooth his burns in the kitchen sink.

CCTV from the store shows the victim hopping from foot to foot in pain, and then sitting with his legs in water.

Paramedics arrived and the boy was transported to hospital before being flown to Brisbane and placed in an induced coma to relieve him of the intense pain.

A bystander who witnessed the event said she was at Cafe 63 when she saw a Kepnock High student run into the centre, screaming. She then assisted by placing him in the cafe’s sink, hosing him down, and administering first aid.

His father said on Thursday his son had been with friends at the drains, though Kepnock school principal Andrew Millis was unsure if that had been the case, or if the student had been on his own.

The boy’s father saidhis son had woken from the induced coma on Thursday afternoon, but was still “out of it” and “groggy”.

His stay in hospital has so far cost the family more than $1400, he said.

The Year 7 student from Kepnock High School in Bundaberg recovering from his severe burns in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

He also said he’d heard reports that boys had been seen in the drain days before the incident.

He claims nothing was done to stop the behaviour.

“Why wait until a 12-year-old gets the skin on his legs blown off before doing something?” he said.

The video shows a group of students standing in the background as the lad is helped in the cafe.

“He’s scarred for life,” his dad said.

 

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the boy sustained significant burns to his hands and arms, with additional burns to his legs.

Sparklers and cans in the drain Kepnock students were reportedly playing in.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said police had not been contacted regarding the incident, but the Kepnock student’s father believed a video may have been circulating among students that could provide insight.

Authorities have yet to confirm the details.

Investigations are ongoing.

An Education Department spokeswoman said "all Queensland state schools hold the safety of students and staff as their highest priority, and incidents of this nature are treated extremely seriously".

"The incident has been referred to during assemblies by Deputy Principals to dispel rumours about the incident and warn students about the serious dangers of playing with fire and aerosol cans," the spokeswoman said.

"No further details can be provided for privacy reasons."