Police and emergency services from Wairarapa, situated not far from the country’s capital Wellington, are trying to find out what affected children from a local primary school, who recently felt sick and experienced nausea, vomiting, eye redness and slight fevers.
According to the Wellington Free Ambulance, 50 needed help from medical workers, while the local health board reported about 10 kids being taken to hospital. It all began when some in the school playground reported a strong smell of rotten eggs shortly after a plane flew nearby. One of the kids told the teachers that he saw something falling from it.
Other people in the neighborhood also reported feeling ill, according to the local outlet Dominion Post. Police cars, fire engines and ambulances arrived at the site. In total, more than 100 children and adults had to undergo decontamination procedures, with the school on lockdown.
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Police have confirmed there was a plane that had flown near the school, but haven’t commented on if it could affect the students. At the same time Greater Wellington Regional Council is reportedly attempting to determine if any flights had been planned over the area.
As the outlet reported, Fire and Emergency incident controller Brett Lockyer doubted the claims that a plane had "accidentally sprayed" the children with pesticide, referring to the reports as to more "unlikely than likely." According to him, authorities were unsure about the substance and its source, if it had come from the plane or if some of students had brought something to school.