Chandigarh, 30 April (Hindustan Times). So far 11 people have died due to gas leak in Ludhiana, Punjab on Sunday morning. The district administration has confirmed this. Five of the dead belong to the same family. Many others fainted. Fifteen people have been admitted to various hospitals in the city, out of which the condition of four is critical. Although the reasons for which this accident happened, it is not yet known. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has summoned the preliminary inquiry report of the matter from the district administration.
District Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana Surbhi Malik told that 11 people have died so far. Five of the dead belong to the same family. Two children are also included in the dead. Apart from this, 15 people have been admitted to various hospitals in the city, out of which the condition of four is critical. A medical board has been constituted for the post-mortem of all the dead. People have been instructed not to go to the affected area till the pressure of the gas subsides.
There was chaos among the people due to gas leaking in Gyaspura area of Ludhiana on Sunday morning. Many people started falling unconscious at various places and many remained asleep in their sleep. Teams of district administration, police, fire brigade and NDRF reached the spot as soon as the incident was reported. The entire area has been evacuated.
Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that the police have got the entire area evacuated from the security point of view. According to the officials, it is not yet clear what kind of gas leak caused the accident. It is suspected that some nearby industry dumped the chemical waste in the sewer gutter instead of disposing of it as per rules. After the chemical reaction caused by this, poisonous gas spread in the Puai area, due to which this accident took place. He informed that NDRF teams have been called with special equipment. Samples of manholes are being taken here.
