15 persons fall ill due to leakage of chlorine gas in West Bengal's Murshidabad

At least 15 persons fell ill following gas leakage from a chlorine container during the demolition of an old water tank reservoir at a Pumping Station in West Bengal government’s Public Health Engineering Department in Murshidabad district, Lalbag on Monday.

People fell ill and complained of suffocation and developed breathing distress following the leakage in the area and they were rushed to Lalbagh Sub-division Hospital. Four persons working in the pumping station and 11 others in the adjacent area fell ill. Among them, two were serious and were shifted to state-run Baharampur Medical College & Hospital.

“Two persons were seriously ill and were shifted to Baharampur Medical College & Hospital for treatment,” Jiten Pal, In-charge of Lalbagh Fire station said. He said that the water was used from fire engines to douse the gas at the spot.


The officials broke an old water tank by mistake, which caused the gas leak, in the abandoned pumping station, sources said. The fire engines were immediately pressed into action to diffuse the gas in the affected area, Pal added.

It is pertinent to mention, in February this year, three contract workers had died at a Steel Plant in Durgapur during a maintenance job. The unions had alleged that the workers died after inhaling toxic gas while working at the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) converter.