Ammonia gas leak at ice factory claims life
A sudden ammonia gas leak at Jain Ice Factory situated along the Old Railway Road near Damoria Bridge here resulted in the death of a worker and caused panic in the area on Saturday afternoon.
Deceased Sheetal Singh (68) was a migrant who had been working at the factory for the past four months. Three other workers also got trapped in the factory after the gas leak, but were later rescued by the emergency response teams. Their condition is stated to be stable.
The incident occurred around 2.30 pm. Some passers-by reportedly collapsed near the factory. Locals immediately alerted the police control room about the potential gas leak. Acting swiftly, the police sealed the area and diverted traffic. Emergency response teams, three fire tenders and disaster management personnel were deployed to contain the situation. The area remained cordoned off till evening.
A formal inquiry into the incident has been launched with SDM (Jalandhar-1) Jai Inder Singh overseeing the investigation. He said technical experts were conducting a detailed inspection of the factory that had been sealed pending further investigation.
Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Sharma claimed the situation was brought under control in two hours. The cause of gas leak was yet to be ascertained, he added.
