The students allegedly affected by the gas leak are now in a stable condition.
70 children in Kollam in Kerala, who were hospitalised allegedly after a gas leak from a unit of the state-run Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML), are now in a stable condition.
But a day after the incident, residents of Kollam seemed fearful about the gas leak and its aftereffects.
All schools in the area have been closed till Monday. Operations of the KMML have also been temporarily shut down.
Doctors, however, say that while the children are being treated on the basis of symptoms that indicate the possibility of the presence of a toxic gas, the exact correlation between the gas leak and their condition cannot be established medically.
"We cannot categorically say it's a gas leak. We have treated it based on symptoms. It's a mass causality and we are doing symptomatic treatment. The children responded well (to the treatment) within 4-5 hours," said Dr Santosh, Medical Superintendent of the Valiyath Institute of Medical Sciences.
A gas leak from the same factory had left over 40 people, including students, hospitalised on Wednesday.
The leaked gas is believed to be Sulphur Dioxide. Similar leaks have been reported from the unit earlier in 2007 and 2011.