Over 50 labourers Sunday fell ill in an industrial area of Jalgaon city in Maharashtra owing to a chlorine gas leak from a factory, police said.
"The workers belonged to a factory called Tulsi Pipes. They suffered from breathing problems and acute vomiting as one of the 25 chlorine cylinders stacked in the adjoining Kalpataru Agro-Chem Industries leaked," an official from Jalgaon police station told IANS.
The manager of Kalpataru Agro-Chem told police that the cylinders were kept on the factory premises for being taken to another plant.
He said that he did not know how the chlorine leaked from one of the cylinders, police said.
"All victims have been sent to hospital. While 10 labourers are still under medical care, others have been discharged," the official added.
A complaint has been registered by one of the labourers, Mohammed Aslam Mehboob Ilahi, against owners of Kalpataru Agro-Chem under Indian Penal Code Sections 284 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of other), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of other) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of other), the official said.