Possible gas leak probed after 14 get sick at Miami middle school
Authorities said the 14 were all adults and children were not affected.
— -- Authorities are investigating a suspected carbon-monoxide leak at a school in Miami, Florida, that sent 14 people to area hospitals today.
Around 11:42 a.m., Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said its emergency personnel were called to Miami Springs Middle School after several workers reported feeling sick in and around the cafeteria. Authorities said the victims were all adults.
"The school cafeteria and adjacent areas were temporarily evacuated. A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Hazmat team was on site trying to locate the source of concern," Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a news release. "At this time, crews are continuing to work on investigating this incident."
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Authorities said the adults had been in the school cafeteria when they started experiencing dizziness, nausea and the feeling of being light-headed. They all needed to be wheeled out on stretchers and transported to area hospitals but none were critical, authorities said.
Fire Lt. Felipe Lay of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that a nearby classroom of more than 40 students also had been evacuated and evaluated. He said the children were fine and not symptomatic.
Lay said authorities suspected a gas leak because of the adults' symptoms and the location of the incident. The school district said it believed there was a problem with the propane gas system in the school building.
"At this moment, we're investigating, with our hazardous materials team, to determine the source of the gas leak," Lay said. "It seems like it might be carbon monoxide so that's what we're going with but our teams are still assessing at this present moment."