More than 40 people fell ill after a chlorine gas leak at a water treatment plant in Nagpur’s Godhni area in the early hours of Monday, prompting a multi-agency rescue operation.
The leak occurred around 1 am at the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran’s Godhni Municipal Council Water Treatment Plant, where chlorine escaped from a 900-kg-capacity cylinder.
As the gas spread to nearby residential areas, panic gripped the locality, with several residents reporting coughing and breathing difficulties.
Residents of nearby settlements were advised to move to safer locations, while several affected people were taken to hospitals for treatment, according to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).
After being alerted, civic fire personnel rushed to the site with two water tenders and breathing apparatus. Staff from Orange City Water Pvt Ltd (OCW), which supplies drinking water in Nagpur, and a team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were also deployed.
An official at Mankapur police station said security personnel evacuated residents within a 200-metre radius and cordoned off the area.
Many residents went to hospitals on their own, while others were taken there by the police, the official said.
The rescue operation concluded around 5.30 am after the leak was plugged. NDRF personnel, firefighters and OCW staff then placed the chlorine cylinder in a tank containing water mixed with caustic soda to neutralise the gas, the civic body said.
Police have appealed to residents not to pay heed to rumours.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)