Chlorine gas cylinder leaks near pump house in Nainital, 3 people in hospital

Nainital: Three people were hospitalized on Thursday after chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder near the Sukhatal Pump House in Nainital in Uttarakhand state, officials said.

A team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, administration and doctors have arrived at the site and started evacuating people from their homes, it said.

They said the chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder kept in the Jal Sansthan.

Chlorine is a toxic gas that causes breathing difficulties as well as vomiting and nausea.

Nainital District Magistrate Vandana Singh said there was a leak in a 50 kg cylinder of chlorine gas, forcing 100 people living in 25 to 30 surrounding houses to be evacuated.

He said three people were admitted to BD Pandey District Hospital complaining of vomiting due to gas leak.

The affected residents reported that people had been complaining about a bad smell since the afternoon and that it had become unbearable in the evening, after which the officials were informed.

A Jal Sansthan official said that the chlorine gas cylinder was buried under the Sukhatal Lake late in the evening at 8 pm, bringing the situation under control.

Jal Sansthan chief engineer Ramesh Garbyal said that there is currently no danger of gas leakage from the cylinder.

The cylinder was kept in the pump house to filter the water, he said. Police are investigating the case.