22 taken ill by chlorine leak in Gujarat town

Nadiad (Gujarat), July 18 (IANS) As many as 22 persons were taken ill on Monday in this central Gujarat town after a chlorine gas leak.

People residing in over 250 houses in the headquarters town of Kheda district were also evacuated.

Kheda District Collector Kuldeep Arya said the gas leak occurred in Pragatinagar locality, where a water supply tank is also situated.

None of the 22 persons admitted in the Civil Hospital here was critical, the officer said. However, some elderly people among those affected were given oxygen to stabilise them, he added.

"Some tankers filled with chlorine gas meant for drinking water purification being supplied to the locals, kept at the Water Supply Department office, began to leak, after which many people complained of breathlessness and were hospitalised," Arya said.

District administration officials made announcement on the public address to ask area people to evacuate the area till the leak was contained.

Arya said the entire affected area was cordoned off as a precautionary measure. He said chlorine was not poisonous per se, but could prove fatal if inhaled in large quantity.

Fourteen firefighters and more than 30 other staff of the Fire Department were involved in efforts to plug the leak.