NEW DELHI — More than 300 schoolgirls were hospitalized on Saturday after complaining of irritation in their eyes and throat following a gas leak in New Delhi, police said.
Classes were underway when gas leaked from a container parked at a depot close to the school and filled with chemical meant for industrial use, police said.
Images showed scores of disaster response personnel closely inspecting the premises of the government-run girls’ school.
“Around 300 children were admitted to four hospitals for treatment. No one is serious. The situation is normal now,” police deputy commissioner Romil Baaniya said.
Police will initiate legal action against the handlers for negligence, Baaniya added.
The gas is believed to be chloromethyl pyridine, a chemical used to manufacture pesticides and insecticides.
While the school in the Tughlakabad area was fully vacated, the children are not believed to be at serious risk.
Delhi Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said two fire engines, a hazmat (hazardous materials) van and rescue teams had been sent to the government-run girls’ school.
“Students and staff members of Rani Jhansi school were evacuated, and the entire area has been cordoned off,” he said.
Delhi Police and India’s National Disaster Response Force are working to identify the chemical, and how it leaked, reported BBC.
Union minister J.P. Nadda has instructed all hospitals to be ready to help the victims. A team of doctors from AIIMS has been put on stand-by to cater to any emergency.
Gas leaks are not uncommon in India, with most caused by a failure to comply with safety standards.
In 2014 a poisonous gas leak at one of India’s largest steel plants in central Chhattisgarh state killed six people.
And a toxic gas leak in Bhopal city in 1984 killed at least 25,000 people and remains to this day the world’s worst industrial disaster. — Agencies
