Gas leak near Delhi school leaves 475 girls in hospital
CONTAINER MALFUNCTION Breathless, unconscious children get treatment, out of danger
least 475 students of a Delhi school were admitted to hospital on Saturday after a chemical leak triggered toxic fumes that left the minor girls with breathlessness, eye irritation, nausea and severe headache.
Nine teachers of the Rani Jhansi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in southeast Delhi’s Tughlaqabad were also treated for similar symptoms, officials said.
The liquid chemical – identified by its scientific name as ‘2-chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine’ – is believed to have leaked from a couple of broken barrels inside an iron container, which was kept in the depot overnight before being transported to Sonepat in Haryana early on Saturday.
Officials said when sunlight fell on the chemical spilled on a road, it triggered a chemical reaction and produced the toxic fumes. The chemical is used to produce pesticides and fertilizers.
In December 1984, a similar gas leak at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal — which also produced pesticide — had left thousands of people dead and many more maimed for life.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered a magisterial probe into Saturday’s incident and fix responsibility for the chemical leak at the depot, adjoining the school.
Southeast Delhi’s additional deputy commissioner of police Harshvardhan said 406 students have been discharged while around 70 “are still admitted and under observation”.
“A chemical leak was reported from the Tughlaqabad depot... at 7.30 am. The local police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Service and ambulances immediately reached the spot and the students were rushed to different hospitals,” added Harshvardhan, who uses only his first name.
Affected students said they thought they were losing their eyesight.
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