Labour Department safety inspectors are investigating how a high school student suffered burns to a third of his body after being splashed with methylated spirits which then burst into flames.
Jamie Knox, a Year 10 student at Waiuku College, south of Auckland, and other students were working on a model boat during a woodwork class when the meths spilled on him and ignited.
He rolled on the ground to try and extinguish the flames as his classmates hit him with their clothing.
He was flown to the city's Middlemore Hospital and underwent surgery yesterday afternoon, Waiuku College deputy principal Mark Nickless said.
He said Jamie was one of four fuelling the model power boat they had made in their technology class when the meths spilt.
Two other students suffered slight burns but not seriously enough to be taken to hospital.
