Gas leak toll rises to four

By IANS

Lucknow : Two more employees of a plastic factory here who inhaled leaking chlorine gas have died, taking the death toll in the tragedy to four.


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The Aug 5 tragedy occurred after poisonous chorine fumes leaked from the boiler of recycled raw material. While some workers fainted, others displayed abnormal behaviour.

One worker died Aug 10, attracting media attention and forcing the administration to get into action.

The rest of the victims, who were undergoing private treatment in their homes, were then rushed to the medical university’s hospital for specialised treatment. While one died Saturday, two more died Monday.

“The inhalation of poisonous emissions had apparently choked some of their vital organs,” a doctor attending on the victims at the King George Medical University Hospital said Tuesday.

While the condition of one of the six other hospitalised workers was stated to be “serious”, the rest were out of danger.

District magistrate Chandra Bhanu has released Rs.20,000 as ex-gratia relief to the families of each of the victims.

Factory owner Ramanuj Rastogi has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

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