Dozen fall ill in Lucknow after gas leak

Lucknow : At least a dozen people were admitted to a hospital here Saturday after complaining of breathlessness and uneasiness after exposure to gas leak from a factory, police said.

The incident occurred at Bulaqi Adda area in Bazarkhala after the gas leak from Roli Industries, an ice cream manufacturing unit.

As the news spread, hundreds of residents fled the area. Police said that the gas leaking from the factory was ammonia and had spread up to Tikaitganj and Nandakheda.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Lucknow R.K. Chaturvedi told IANS that rescue teams have had the area evacuated and 12 people have been admitted to a local medical facility.

“All the gas pipes have been plugged but the gas is still leaking from somewhere,” he said.

As of 11 p.m., firemen were struggling to locate the point of the leak.