5 Of Family Among 11 Dead In Gas Leak Incident In Punjab's Ludhiana, Rescue Operations On

11 people have died after they fell unconscious due to a gas leak incident at a factory in the Giaspura area of Ludhiana in Punjab. Four more people, who were critically ill, are undergoing treatment at a hospital, police said.

What happened

The victims allegedly died after inhaling the poisonous gas.?The gas leak happened at 7 am at Sua Road near Eastman Chowk Giaspura in a block with different establishments, like a grocery shop, a Verka milk booth and a clinic. The source of gas leak and the type of gas were still unclear, according to officials.

Ludhiana’s Giaspura is a thickly populated area with several industrial and residential buildings and has a heavy migrant population. Here's everything we know so far.

ANI

All that we know

A rescue team was immediately rushed to the spot, and doctors, an ambulance, and a fire brigade team were stationed there. A 50-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has also reached the site. The affected area has been cordoned off.

Eight persons, including two men, four women and two children, were brought dead to the civil hospital. Among the dead were a family of five, 40-year-old Kabilash Kumar and his wife, Barsha Devi, along with their three children-- 16-year-old Kalpana, Abhay Narayan, 12, and Aryan, 9.

In a tweet, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the police, district administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were conducting rescue and relief operations.

"Definitely, it is a gas leak case. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team is present at the spot to evacuate the people and will conduct the rescue operation," Swati Tiwana, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Ludhiana, told ANI. The nature and sources of the gas are not known yet, and the NDRF team will investigate it, she said.The immediate priority is to evacuate the area, which is densely populated, Tiwana added.

"11 deaths confirmed till now...In all likelihood, there is some gas contamination which has happened...It is quite likely that maybe some chemical reacted with methane in manholes...All of this is being verified. NDRF is retrieving samples," news agency ANI quoted Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik as saying.

In a similar incident in June 2015, five people were killed and at least 100 others fell ill after ammonia gas had leaked from a tanker in Dorahad town of the Ludhiana district.

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