As reports emerge of ten people having died after a poisonous gas leak in Vishakapatnam, another leak has been reported in Chhatisgarh, which has left seven workers unwell so far.
Seven workers have fallen ill after inhaling poisonous gas at a paper mill in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, police said on Thursday, according to PTI. Three of them are critical, according to the latest news reports.
The incident occurred at Shakti Paper Mill in Tetla village, where the victims were cleaning an open tank on Wednesday evening, Raigarh superintendent of police Santosh Singh told PTI.
However, the factory owner did not inform the administration about the incident, which only came to light after the hospital authorities alerted the police, he said.
The mill had remained shut ever since the COVID-19 lockdown was enforced and the cleaning work was underway to resume operations, the official said.
The workers were admitted to a local hospital, from where three were shifted to Raipur in view of their critical condition, he said.
A team of forensic experts was dispatched to the spot to investigate the exact cause of the incident, Singh said, adding that a case will be registered soon.
The Hindustan Times reported that the gas could have been a carbon-heavy one, possibly methane.
The mishap in Vishakapatnam took place at the LG Polymers plant in Gopalpatnam in the wee hours of Thursday. The gas that leaked was Styrene, a sweet-smelling gas that can affect the central nervous system.
Several of the victims apparently inhaled the gas while asleep. Around 300 patients have been admitted at the King George hospital, most of whom are women, children and the elderly.
With inputs from PTI
