Four students felt sick – two were taken to the hospital and two were taken to the college health centre – in today’s evacuation of the Cousins Building at Lethbridge College, according to a college spokesperson.

The students, who were in two different classes, felt lightheaded and two fainted.

“One was in the chem lab and one was doing a pig dissection,” Rosentreter said.

“The chemistry lab will be closed for the remainder of today and tonight just to make sure there isn’t anything going on in there.”

Capt. Rod Linn, of the Lethbridge Fire Department, said the exact cause could not be found.

“One of them is a biology class where they are dissecting (pigs), so we’re not sure whether there are chemicals involved or somebody’s weak stomach and the other one there is no indication of chemicals at all,” said Linn.

“They (the students) were feeling lightheaded and a little shortness of breath and they were taken to hospital to get checked out. I think the main chemical in there was formaldehyde.”

Linn added that unless someone breathes in formaldehyde in large concentrations it isn’t that dangerous.

Nathan Koegler, a general studies major, was in the biology classroom when people were instructed to leave.

“I came to class and people were leaving… There was a girl on the ground and an instructor was helping her,” Koegler said.

“One of the instructors said that we should leave.”

A member of the Health Centre staff could not disclose the status of the students that had been sent to them.

The Lethbridge Regional Hospital disclosed only that the students are doing fine.

For photos of the evacuation, click here