Gas leakage from factory pipeline triggers panic

KOLKATA: Panic spread at Kamalgazi area after a leakage in a gas pipeline inside a soft drinks manufacturing plant on Monday evening.

A few employees, and fire fighters fell sick due to inhaling the gas leaking from the plant. However, no official confirmation was given by the competent authorities.

According to sources, around 4:30 pm on Monday while work was going on in the said soft drinks manufacturing plant, suddenly ammonia gas from a pipeline inside the plant started leaking. Immediately the emergency alarm was raised and the factory was evacuated. Meanwhile, fire brigade and Narendrapur police station were informed. Three fire tenders were pressed into action. District Magistrate of South 24-Parganas, Sumit Gupta rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation.

Apart from evacuating the employees of the factories, several residents adjacent to the factory were also taken to a safe place. Meanwhile, fire fighters sprayed water in the air in order to check spread of the gas in the neighbourhood. Around 6:30 pm the source of leakage was identified. Fire fighters kept on spraying water at the source of the leakage to ensure the gas do not spread anymore.

Before that the valve to the particular pipeline was closed. Though the source was identified fire fighters had to wait for the residual in the pipe line to flow out. Only after the flow of the gas stops, the leakage can be repaired.

Around 7 pm a team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) visited the spot. Till then the situation was brought under control. Around 8 pm leakage of residual gas in the pipeline stopped.