57 hospitalised after wasp attack in Sri Lanka

Colombo, July 14 (IANS) At least 57 people, most of them students, were hospitalised after a swarm of wasps attacked a school in Sri Lanka on Thursday, sources from the school and a health centre said.

The attack occurred in the afternoon in the Padaviya locality, a remote area in Anuradhapura district, Efe news reported.

Fifty five students -- aged between eight and 18 years -- and two teachers of the Sripura Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya School were admitted to the regional hospital, a source from the health centre said.

Two students were in the ICU, whereas the rest "are out of danger and will be discharged after being kept under observation for a while," the source added.

The school's principal, Kularatne Bandara, told Efe that the incident occurred during school hours and the wasps came from a nearby jungle.