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India forms committee of doctors to tackle gas leak incident

Xinhua, May 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

Indian Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said he has constituted a five-member committee of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to deal with New Delhi's gas leak incident, officials said Sunday.

Around 475 people mostly girl students and seven teachers, at two schools - Rani Jhansi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya and Government Girls Senior Secondary School - near Railway colony in Tughlakabad area of South Delhi were rushed to hospitals on Saturday following a gas leak in the vicinity.

The students from classes 6-12 complained of breathlessness and irritation in eyes, following which authorities raised an alarm and sought help from administration. The students were admitted in four nearest hospitals.

"Team of AIIMS doctors have visited the Tughlakabad depot, Delhi gas incident spot," Nadda said. "They also checked the victims and confirmed that all of them are out of danger."

Officials said the AIIMS team was constituted to deal with any eventuality.

The gas leak was detected around 7:30 a.m. local time when morning assembly and some class work was going on inside the schools.

Apart from police and fire service officials, teams from National Disaster Response Force have reached the location to control the leak.

The gas leak was said to be Chloromethyl Pyridine, a chemical used in manufacturing insecticides and pesticides.

While the number of students admitted in the hospitals was increasing, Nadda ordered federal government-run hospitals to remain vigilant for extending help to the victims.

Police officials have registered a case in this regard and initiated investigations into the incident.

Delhi government has also ordered a magisterial probe to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia visited hospitals to met the victims.

Reports said many students were discharged from the hospitals, however some were kept under observation.

Chemical gas leak in Bhopal city of India in 1984 killed 25,000 people, and is considered to be the world's worst industrial disaster. Endit