Heerlen school evacuated over pepper spray; 19 unwell

Nineteen people at the Sintermeertencollege in Heerlen suffered health complaints on Tuesday after a number of students sprayed pepper spray in the school The building was evacuated as a precaution, as the fire department could not immediately say what was causing people to fall ill, NU.nl reports.

A strong smell was noticed on the ground floor in the east wing at around 11:30 a.m. Paramedics treated 19 people for irritated eyes and airways, a spokesperson for the Zuid-Limburg fire brigade said to the newspaper. According to the spokesperson, the health complaints should disappear by themselves. "However, irritated eyes can still occur for a while, especially when washing the hair."

The school is going to take "appropriate measures" after the incident, according to the newspaper. All pupils were sent home on Tuesday, with classes and tests being canceled. Only the scheduled final exams still took place.