At least two persons died and 15 more fell ill on Tuesday night after gas leaked in an Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited unit in Phulpur, Prayagraj, in Uttar Pradesh, ANI reported.
The leakage was under control by Wednesday morning, said District Magistrate Bhanu Goswami. The factory was temporarily closed down for further operation. “The situation is now under control,” he added.
IFFCO called the accident unfortunate. In a statement, the company said that mishap took place at 10.30 pm on Tuesday when the tie rods of an ammonia plunger pump suddenly broke and got detached leading to “heavy ammonia leakage”. “Two employees died tackling the incident,” it also confirmed.
News18 reported that gas leak created panic, prompting workers to rush out of the premises. Amid the chaos, about 15 of them got trapped inside and fell unconscious.
All of them were taken to a nearby hospital. The deceased were identified as Assistant Manager VP Singh and Deputy Manager Abhyanandan Kumar, the channel reported.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath expressed grief over the incident and instructed officials to carry out relief work expeditiously. He also ordered an investigation into the accident.
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