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By Manjeet Sehgal: Eleven people, most of whom were migrant labourers, lost their lives after inhaling toxic gas in Ludhiana’s Giaspura area early on Sunday morning. The police and NDRF personnel are at the spot and conducting an investigation into the incident.
The source of the leakage and the type of the gas are yet to be ascertained, police told PTI.
Eyewitnesses at the spot said the gas might have leaked from the gutter, which was choked by the recent rains. They described the situation as suffocating and horrendous. They saw people falling unconscious as the gas spread across the area.
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One of the eyewitnesses, Arvind Chaubey, claimed that he saw smoke coming out from a gutter. He also shot videos of people who fell unconscious on the road.
Arvind Chaubey said he came to know about the gas leak from his brother. The duo had planned to play cricket.
“We were planning to play cricket as it was a Sunday. It was around 7 am when my brother informed me that there was a gas leak. We reached the spot and we tried to rescue the people affected by the gas,” he told India Today.
“I found one of them was alive and an ambulance took the person away. We are lucky to be alive. It was horrendous and suffocating. It was difficult to breathe,” he said.
Arvind’s brother Ashish Chaubey said he saw people falling unconscious as they were trying to rescue their near ones.
“I saw a man who was splashing water on his wife’s face. She was unconscious. He asked me to help him. As I was about to help him, he also fell down unconscious. There was smoke everywhere and it was suffocating. I called the police and they arrived at the spot,” he said.
Ashish also said that he saw seven to eight people falling unconscious.
Authorities are also suspecting that the gas might have probably leaked from the freezers that was kept in a grocery store. Given the fact that the incident happened in an industrial-cum-residential area, the gas impacted the residents nearby.
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Arzoo Khan, an eyewitness, said that he lost his 12-year-old brother.
“My brother, who was 12 years old, died in the tragedy. He was in his room when the incident happened. Most of the deceased belonged to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” he said.
Many people are still feared trapped inside their houses. The houses and factories have been evacuated and the entire area has been sealed.
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