7 workers fall ill after gas leak at paper plant in Chhattisgarh's Raipur

At a time when factories across the country are gearing up to resume operations, 7 workers fell ill after inhaling a poisonous gas at a paper mill in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district.

The incident took place at the Shakti Paper Mill located in Raigarh's Tetala village on Thursday afternoon, where the workers were cleaning an open tank. Earlier in the day, a gas leak at a polymer plant in Visakhapatnam claimed 11 lives, leaving the nation in shock.

The condition of three workers is reported to be critical. Raigarh's police suprintendent Santosh Singh said that the three have been shifted to the state capital for better medical care.

The paper mill was not functioning since March, when a nationwide lockdown was announced to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

Maintenance operation had starterd at the plant after the government allowed some industries to restart production, . “The workers were cleaning a tank when they were exposed to a toxic gas leak,” Singh said.

The workers who were outside the tank escaped soon after gas leaked. The 7 workers, who were inside the tank, were trapped and fell unconscious. They were evacuated and rushed to the hospital.

He added that the paper mill owner did not inform the police of the incident and they came to know about the incident from the hospital authorities where the injured were admitted. “A case will be registered against the management,” Singh said, adding that the concerned department would probe the incident.

The owner of the plant could not be contacted. The condition of four workers was reported to be stable.