Evacuated Glastry College to reopen as chemical spill emergency ends - parents were told to pick up all 650 pupils, but school now declared safe

Emergency services have confirmed that the incident involved spilled ammonia – which can be corrosive in both liquid and gas forms, and at high levels can cause burns, lung damage, blindness and even death.

On Thursday morning (30th), Glastry College in Ballyhalbert sent out an alert to parents and guardians of all 650 pupils at the secondary school, instructing them to pick up their kids.

Shortly before 3pm, however, school authorities stated the building had been “deemed safe by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service".

A statement read: “All pupils were evacuated from the school building as a precautionary measure.

"We would like to thank everyone for their prompt response and support in ensuring the safety of our pupils today.”

Glastry is due to reopen tomorrow morning from 9.30am to 12.30am, the school stating that the reduced hours are due to “parental consultations taking place online” and “to enable pupils to collect important belongings”.

The school should be open as normal on Monday, the statement added.

During the emergency, the school said pupils who couldn’t be collected would be supervised in the school canteen which had been “deemed a safe space”.

A Northern Ireland Fire Service spokeswoman said: “Firefighters were called to reports of spilt ammonia in a premises on Victoria Road, Ballyhalbert.

"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus contained the substance and removed it from the premises.

"The building was ventilated and all gas readings were normal. The incident was deal with by 1.22pm.”