Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT
Three nursery schoolchildren have suffered serious burns after a teacher reportedly set fire to an alcohol-soaked cloth during a fire drill and a gust of wind blew it onto the kids.
The children, identified as five-year-old Nguyen Ngoc Ha Le, four-year-old Pham Bui Gia Khanh and three-year-old Nguyen Anh Thu, are being treated at the Vietnam National Institute of Burns in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
According to local media, 14 young students aged between three and five years old were being taught how to act during a fire drill.
Pictures Credit: AsiaWire
The owner of the Tuoi Tho nursery school, named as 29-year-old Nguyen Thi Khoat, placed an alcohol-soaked cloth on a tray and set fire to it, according to reports.
While telling the children that they should leave the room and call for an adult when they see something ablaze, a strong gust of wind blew through the window.
Reports said that the flaming material was flung through the air before landing on the three young victims sitting nearby.
Khoat tried to smother the flames with material, but the fire spread quickly and five-year-old Le suffered 52 percent burns on her body, according to local media.
Reports said that three-year-old Thu suffered burns to over half her body while Khanh had 37 percent burns, mostly to his face, chest and limbs.
It is currently unclear whether the authorities are investigating the nursery school, which reportedly opened earlier this year with four teachers and 20 students.
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
