At least 11 students, nine girls and two boys, sustained burn injuries when a gas balloon exploded at the Airport Square near Naveen Niwas, residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, during a procession to mark Patnaik's 69th birthday on Friday.
The injured girls are the students of the Ramadevi Women's University, Bhubaneswar. All the injured were rushed to the Capital Hospital. later in the evening, they were all discharged after primary treatment. They sustained superficial burns on their foreheads and hands, said Capital Hospital Superintendent Binod Mishra.
The mishap occurred while a large number of students, mostly members of the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD), gathered outside the Chief Minister's residence to greet him on his birthday. Burning fragments of the burst gas balloon fell on them.
The balloon had caught fire after coming in contact with a live cracker, eyewitnesses said.
The Chief Minister visited the hospital and inquired about the condition of the students. Several Ministers and MlAs, including Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and law Minister Arun Sahu, visited the Capital Hospital to meet the injured students.