A Yale student was killed in a chemistry lab-related accident Tuesday night, according to school officials.

Michele Dufault, a senior at the university, died Tuesday night "in what appears to have been a terrible accident involving a piece of equipment in the student machine shop in Sterling Chemistry Laboratory," according to a statement on Yale's website from the university's vice president Linda Koch Lorimer.

Lorimer described the astronomy and physics major as "an exceptional young woman, an outstanding student and young scientist, a dear friend and a vibrant member of [the Yale] community."

Sterling Chemistry Laboratory will remain closed on Wednesday, and classes and labs have been cancelled.

No other details are currently available.