Curiosity and bad timing combined yesterday morning to send eight students to the hospital with burns from a gas-canister explosion in Shanghai.

Four others were also burned in the blast in Jiading District's Jiangqiao Town.

Doctors at Jiangqiao Medical Center reported late yesterday that the injured were out of danger.

"The patients arrived at the center at about 8am, and almost all our medical staff was involved in emergency treatment," said Gui Jinliang, the facility's director. "Their injuries were not life threatening, but they were taken to a more specialized hospital for further treatment."

Gui said the burns occurred mostly on the exposed parts of the victims' bodies, including their heads and limbs.

The injured were continuing treatment last night at Ruijin Hospital.

The dangerous chain of events began shortly before school yesterday.

It started with a fire in the first-floor apartment of an 81-year-old woman surnamed Shen, according to Jiangqiao Town police assistants.

The rubber tubing connecting her stove and a gas cylinder was worn out, and gas leaked into the kitchen. When the woman turned on her stove, the flame ignited the gas.

Shen called for help, and neighbors came to her aid by pouring buckets of water on the flames.

The blaze was put out, but a few minutes later the gas canister exploded.

Shen and three tenants were burned, along with the eight students, who were standing near the home watching the firefighting activities at the time of the blast.

The youngsters were identified as students at Wansong Primary School, which is located about 100 meters from the fire site.

"I heard a big explosion and could feel the classroom windows shaking," said a boy student, who described his injured schoolmates as "black and bald."

"Their hair was burned away and they had smoky faces," said the fifth-grader.

(Shanghai Daily November 4, 2005)