One person died and more than 35 people have been injured after an ammonia gas cylinder leaked at a dairy factory in Bihar’s Hajipur of Vaishali district.
The incident happened last night and a stampede-like situation occurred due to which many people got injured and were hospitalised at Sadar Hospital and many were admitted to private nursing homes as well.
The person who died has been identified as a labourer of the Raj Fresh Dairy where the incident occured. However, the cause of gas leak has not been determined yet. Priliminary investigation suggested that the incident happened due to negligence from the factory side.
According to an eye witness, the ammonia gas leaked from the milk factory dissolved in the air and spread for about four kilometers due to which people started having difficulty in breathing.
The gas had spread from Rajput Colony to Paswan Chowk, and Nagar police station as well. The district administration claimed that the leak was controlled within 15 to 20 minutes.
A team of fire brigade had also reached the spot along with the Quick Response Team (QRT) from Patna.
Vaishali District Magistrate Jaspal Meena, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ravi Ranjan Kumar and all the senior officers of the district reached the dairy factory.
Civil surgeon Dr. Shyam Nandan Prasad said that a team of doctors were deployed at Sadar Hospital and all the people admitted in the hospital were treated; however, one died.
As of now it is not known how many people were present in the factory at the time of the incident but the administration has claimed that everything is under control. Most of the people who were hospitalised were either passers-by or people living in area nearby the factory.