DEHRADUN: Two persons fell unconscious after chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder in an empty portion of a warehouse in Jhajhra area of Dehradun on Tuesday morning.
A team of district administration officials, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the spot and evacuated around 150 families from the area to safer places.
Action is being taken to remove gas cylinders from the spot. A detailed investigation is being done regarding the reasons for which the gas cylinders were kept in the vacant plot.
Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh told this newspaper, "On the information of gas leakage, teams of NDRF, SDRF along with local police have done rescue work safely. The reasons for which the chlorine gas cylinders were kept at the said place is being investigated".
Resident Shishupal Singh Rawat reported that late on Monday night, there was a smell of gas in the area, but no one paid much attention to it. By morning, the smell had intensified significantly. At that point, a resident went to the plot to investigate and found a strong odour and heard the sound of gas leaking from there. Immediately, the police were informed about the situation.
As per the police, the property is owned by contractor Rajiv Gupta, a resident of Agra, who had established a water plant on the premises several years ago. Subsequently, seven cylinders were stored at the location.
Unexpectedly, one of the cylinders began leaking gas. The police have called upon Rajiv Gupta for
questioning and have lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against him. Meanwhile, the cylinder has been submerged in a pond and buried in mud.