An 18-year-old male is dead and another is seriously injured after an explosion at Ottawa's Mother Teresa Catholic High School.
Emergency crews were called to the scene at Mother Teresa Catholic High School late Thursday morning after the explosion.
Ottawa police and the Ottawa Catholic School Board had previously confirmed there were at least two people with injuries.
Parents of students at the school of 1,400 were told to call the school for further details, but the building has since been evacuated. School board officials confirmed the students have been transported to Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School.
Ottawa fire services spokesman Marc Messier said there was no fire with the explosion and no severe structural damage.
Hazardous material crews are investigating and assessing the damage.
From Ottawa Citizen:
Students told the Citizen that they were making barbecues in the shop class when a gas tank exploded. One said the injured student was cutting into a propane tank when it exploded.
OTTAWA — One student is dead and another is seriously injured after an explosion in an auto shop at Mother Teresa Catholic High School Thursday morning, paramedics said. Three others were treated at the scene, said paramedic Darryl Wilton.
Fellow students identified the most seriously hurt youth as Eric Leighton. The other seriously hurt student, who suffered a loss of hearing, was identified by friends as Adam Sullivan.
Students told the Citizen that they were making barbecues in the shop class when a gas tank exploded. Student Luca Pizzoferrato said Leighton was cutting into a propane tank when it blew up, possibly set off by sparks from the cutting.
The school has been evacuated and students taken to Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School on Berrigan Drive.
Watch ottawacitizen.com for the latest details.
Follow reporter Meghan Hurley’s reports from the scene twitter.com/meghan_hurley