TIRUCHY: Tension ensued as more than 20 persons, including students taking the Class 10 board exam, came under attack from stray dogs at Pattukkottai in Thanjavur on Wednesday. A team of doctors administered first aid to the students and waited till their exam was over to take them to the hospital for observation. Their condition was said to be stable.
According to sources, a group of stray dogs were found to be chasing the public and biting them at Big Bazaar Street near Pattukottai in Thanjavur, where the Government Girls Higher Secondary School is located. As the Class 10 public examinations commenced on Wednesday, the students who were crossing the area were also seen being chased by the dogs. Around 20 people, including Hasini, Sakthi Priya, Rithika, Masiba Banu, Hema and Asmitha, all studying Class 10, were bitten.
Soon, the injured people, including the students, were taken to Pattukkottai GH, where they were given first aid. Later, the students were sent to the school by an ambulance to take the examination. A doctor team also accompanied the students who waited till the exams were over.
On information, the district collector B Priyanka Pankajam instructed the Chief Educational Officer Baby to visit the students. Subsequently, the CEO went to the school and inquired about the students' condition and learned they were out of danger.
However, the CEO asked the doctors to take them to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital for further observation. The hospital sources said that the students were out of danger.
Meanwhile, as many as 13 members of the public who were injured in the dog bite have been undergoing treatment in Pattukkottai GH. Later, Pattukkottai MLA Annadurai, Pattukkottai Municipal Chairperson Shanmugapriya, visited the spot and ordered to catch the stray dogs.