Panic as gas leak in Maharashtra's Thane leaves people gasping for air

Thane, June 04: People of Badlapur area in Maharashtra's Thane are anxious, following gas leakage from a chemical factory. Several people have complained of breathlessness and a burning sensation in the eyes after the leak at Nobel Intermediates Pvt Ltd company at Shirgaon MIDC.

"I, along with my other colleagues, was working in a nearby factory. Suddenly, we started having problems in breathing. Later, we got to know that there was a gas leak in a factory in the area," a man was quoted saying by ANI.

"The gas leak was reported around 10.22 pm at the factory in Shirgaon MIDC of Badlapur (East). A chemical reaction due to the overheating of sulfuric acid and benzyl acid led to the incident," Santosh Kadam, chief of the Regional Disaster Management Cell of Thane Municipal Corporation said.

"As a result, residents living in three km area around the factory complained of breathing problem and irritation in eyes for a few hours," he said.

On being alerted, two fire engines from Badlapur Municipal Council and one from Shirgaon MIDC rushed to the spot and plugged the leakage, he said.

The situation was brought under control around 11.30 pm, Kadam said, adding that the incident did not result in any major injury to anyone.

According to the Badlapur Fire Station, no one was injured in the incident.