A major leak of hazardous oleum gas at a chemical facility in Palghar district, India, on Monday prompted authorities to evacuate more than 2,600 people, including about 1,600 school students, while three individuals reported minor eye irritation, officials said.
The release of oleum (fuming sulfuric acid) gas impacted areas within a five-kilometre radius of the plant in the Boisar MIDC area on the outskirts of Mumbai, leading to precautionary evacuations, they added.
The incident occurred around 2 pm at a unit operated by Bhageria Industries Ltd, producing a thick white cloud that spread quickly due to strong winds, triggering alarm among residents and workers in the industrial zone.
The reason behind the gas leak was not immediately clear.
What did the administration say?
Indu Rani Jakhar, the District Collector of Palghar district, said she was personally overseeing the response and that the disaster management plan had been put into action without delay.
“The leakage occurred from a 2,500-litre capacity oleum day tank. Due to the wind direction, the smoke spread to surrounding areas, impacting a radius of approximately 5 kilometres,” the administration stated in a press release.
As a precautionary measure, the authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of 1,600 students from a local school, Tarapur Vidyamandir. Additionally, more than 1,000 workers from Bhageria Industries and neighboring firms were moved to safety, it informed.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), and the Fire Brigade initially faced hurdles in reaching the unit where the gas leak occurred.
“Due to the high smoke concentration in affected areas, response teams were facing difficulties in reaching the exact location of the leak,” the official release noted.
Chemical experts and NDRF personnel eventually located the source and entered the premises using self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). To suppress the fumes, responders have deployed sandbags around the leaking tank, it said.
Officials said at least three people experienced minor eye irritation and are being treated at hospitals.
District Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh, who was present at the site of the leak, urged residents not to panic, assuring them that authorities were taking all necessary steps to manage the situation.
Collector Jakhar also appealed to the public to remain indoors and adhere to instructions issued by the administration. He stressed that the situation was being closely monitored in coordination with all relevant departments and advised citizens not to pay attention to rumours.
