Gas leak: A day after, cops yet to fix accountability

A day after a chemical leakage in Tughlaqabad container depot triggered panic in Delhi, the police are trying to fix accountability for the negligence that made 475 children sick.

Officials revealed that the chemical arrived in the wee hours on Saturday and was later moved to the trucks which left for Sonepat by 5:30 am. The leakage would have possibly occurred while the containers were being checked and loaded into the truck. As the day progressed, the chemical evaporated.

"We are collecting documents and going through terms and conditions to identify who was responsible to safely transport chemical to Sonepat. We have asked all concerned parties to submit their documents," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-East, Romil Baaniya.

A team of the National Diaster Response Force (NDRF), the Delhi Police and other agencies reached Sonepat to ascertain if there are any more leakages and how the initial leakage occurred Rajkamal Malik, Assistant Commandant, NDRF said, "The container at Sonepat had 80 barrels of 20 litres capacity each. Leakage was in 4 to 5 barrels."

Officials further revealed that the chemical chloromethylpydrine was imported from Farmasino Pharmaceutical Limited in China and was being taken to Crystal Crop Protection in Sonepat.

Eleven students were referred to Safdarjung and their condition is stated to be stable. An asthmatic girl is undergoing treatment at Apollo. All girls from the ESI hospital have been discharged.

Students of Rani Jhansi School which is close to the depot showed symptoms of irritation.

475 children were taken to various hospitals in the National Capital. The Delhi Police had registered a case against unknown persons. Further investigations are underway.