At least 15 people, including children, were rendered unconscious after inhaling chlorine gas that leaked from a cylinder in the premises of a water treatment plant in Matar taluka of Gujarat's Kheda district, on Friday, an official said.
The affected persons, who lived near the plant, were admitted to a hospital in Tarapur town and were out of danger, fire officer Dixit Patel of Nadiad town fire brigade said.
The fire brigade brought the leak under control by spraying water on the cylinder for over an hour, he said.
The incident took place at a 16 MLD-capacity water treatment plant of the state Water Supply Department, situated on the outskirts of Pariej village on Kheda-Tarapur state highway, an official said.
Seven women, three children and five men were referred to a hospital in Tarapur town when they fell unconscious after inhaling chlorine, said Pravin Bhagat, revenue officer of Matar taluka.
Chlorine is used to purify water. According to eyewitnesses, a cylinder containing chlorine had been lying in a room at the plant for over 10 years, and it suddenly started leaking in the afternoon, the fire officer said.
"Before we reached, the on-duty persons used a JCB machine and dumped the cylinder into a culvert so that chlorine would get diluted in the running water without affecting people," Patel said.
Although the fire brigade sprayed water on the cylinder till it emptied out, the initial leak in the air affected some people living near the plant, he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Watch: 2 Dogs, 2 Lions, And An Almost-Fight In Gujarat He Headed Fire Department After Rajkot Tragedy, Gets Arrested For Bribery Adani Foundation Gets 'Van Pandit Award' for Planting Over 1.7 Lakh Trees In Gujarat Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort Triggers Fresh Congress Attack On BJP Left, BJP, Creating Unrest: Mamata Banerjee On Midnight Attack At Hospital 'Don't Club Us With Others,' Says Manipur's Thadou Tribe, Waits For Peace Plan More Monkey Pox Cases Likely To Hit Europe Soon, Says WHO Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.