Student with serious injuries after fuel drum explodes at Victorian school

A student has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries after an explosion at a Melbourne school, as authorities link the blast to a fuel drum.

A student at regional Victorian high school has been rushed to hospital after an explosion in a classroom.

A spokesman for Ambulance Victoria confirmed with NCA Newswire they attended Bairnsdale Secondary College, in Victoria’s Gippsland, at 11:20 on Wednesday morning.

He said a male student was taken to Bairnsdale Public Hospital with serious upper body burns, before he was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Training said support was being provided to students and staff of Bairnsdale Secondary College.

In a statement on Wednesday, Bairnsdale Secondary College principal Trudie Nagle said the incident was “quickly contained” and said classes at school were continuing as normal.

“There was an incident at school this morning that resulted in a student being taken to hospital with their injuries,” Ms Nagle said in a letter to parents and carers.”

Bairnsdale sec coll explosion incident

Bairnsdale parent Stacey Lee said she was “mortified” that parents found out about the incident on social media before they were notified by the school.

“I’m absolutely mortified parents had to find out on social media before being notified by the school,” she told NCA Newswire.

A spokesperson for the Victorian Country Fire Authority said a fuel drum caused the explosion.

They said units from the Bairnsdale CFA and District 10 HQ attended the scene at approximately 11:19am, and declared the scene safe by around 11:45.

The CFA spokesperson said police, Work Safe and Ambulance Victoria were at the scene.

Bairnsdale, which has a population of approximately 17,000, is in Victoria’s East Gippsland region, roughly three and a half hours east of Melbourne.