Eleven people have died after a a gas leak incident in the Giaspura area in this Punjab district on Sunday. The deceased include two children who were 10 and 13 years old.
Four people have been hospitalised following the treatment, reported ANI. “A total of 11 persons are dead. There are five females and six males including 2 boys of 10 years and 13 years,” the report quoted an official.
A 50-member team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also reached the site. However, there is no information yet on what caused the leakage and the type of the gas. “We will check it first then we will let you know,” the official said in a response to a query.
Police added that the area has been sealed while a fire brigade and an ambulance have been deployed there. The factory is situated in a thickly populated area and the mission is on to evacuate people. Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief at the loss of lives and said the NDRF team is engaged in relief work.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the incident was very painful and added that all possible help is being provided. “The incident of gas leak in Giaspura area of Ludhiana is very painful. Teams of police, district administration and NDRF are present on the spot. Every possible help is being provided..,” Mann said in a tweet in Punjabi.
Though the source of the leakage and the type of the gas were yet to be ascertained, the officials said that they suspected that the poisonous gas was released after some chemical was disposed of in the sewerage in the area and reacted with methane.
Giaspura is a thickly populated area with a migrant population. Several industrial and residential buildings are located here. All the victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and had been staying in Ludhiana.
