50 Children injured in chemical attack in China

Chinese children playing basketball in Hangzhou, china

50 Children injured in chemical attack in China

More than 50 people, mostly children, were injured by a man who broke into a kindergarten in southwest China and sprayed them with corrosive liquid, local authorities said Tuesday.

The suspect, a 23-year-old surnamed Kong, entered the kindergarten by climbing a wall before spraying victims with sodium hydroxide, said local authorities in Kaiyuan city, Yunnan province.

Some 51 children and three teachers were admitted to hospital for treatment, two with “severe symptoms”.

Police arrested Kong less than an hour after the attack.

Facts about sodium hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide is a highlyย causticย baseย andย alkaliย that decomposesย proteinsย at ordinary ambientย temperaturesย and may cause severeย chemical burns.

It is highly soluble inย water and readily absorbsย moistureย andย carbon dioxideย from theย air.
As one of the simplest hydroxides, it is frequently utilized alongside neutralย waterย and acidicย hydrochloric acidย to demonstrate the pH scale to chemistry students.