Cold storage’s wall collapse leads to toxic gas leak, at least 9 fall sick

MP | 14 Apr 2023| Jalpaiguri: In an incident of gas leak, at least seven persons fell sick after the wall of a dilapidated cold storage collapsed and the ammonia circulation pipe got damaged. The incident occurred near the Jalpesh Mela venue in Maynaguri, Jalpaiguri. 

On April 9, part of the cold storage had collapsed. For the past few days, residents of the area have been claiming that the remaining portion of the cold storage could collapse at any moment and spread toxic gas in the surrounding area. 

The apprehension turned true. On Thursday afternoon, a large portion of the back wall of the cold storage collapsed and fell on top of the ammonia circulation pipe. Although the main gas chamber of the cold storage remained closed at that time, the gas inside the pipeline started leaking gradually and began to spread in the surrounding area. 

As the night progressed, the smell of gas started spreading in the area. At least 9 persons, including children and women, fell ill in the area. They were eventually rescued and sent to the hospital for treatment. Residents of the area started to flee from the area and took shelter in a nearby village. 

Fire Brigade teams from Maynaguri and Dhupguri arrived at the scene and made efforts to control the situation. A large police force of the Maynaguri Police Station was also present. The administration evacuated the residents of the area adjacent to the cold storage to a safe place.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is called to the scene to deal with the situation. Around Thursday midnight, the NDRF team arrived at the incident site. The NDRF team immediately cut the supply of the main plant of ammonia gas. BDO of Maynaguri, Shubhra Nandi: “On Thursday night, villagers were evacuated. 

A temporary camp has been set up at Jalpesh High School to accommodate and take care of the people of the village. The NDRF team has cut off the supply of the main ammonia gas plant. Since Friday morning, the situation has been under control as there has been no fresh release of gas from the gas plant.” 

Vivek Kumar, a NDRF official, said: “Our team went to the ammonia gas plant and shut down the gas supply. No new gas has been released. But many trees in the area have been damaged.” The owner of the cold storage, Nirmal Sutradhar, said: “The exact amount of potato damage is still unclear. The administration’s directive will be followed.” https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/no-respite-mercury-breaches-40-degree-c-mark-in-s-bengal-dists-515257?infinitescroll=1