Mumbai gas leak leaves 127 ill

Among the first to be affected were fire security personnel on the premises and others in the vicinity,including 36 students of the Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Maritime and Research Studies. “Our college faces the yard,” said Sanjay Pandey,a student. “Some of us were sleeping,others preparing for an examination tomorrow,when our warden knocked on our doors around 3.30 am. He asked everyone to evacuate quickly as the stench had started spreading on the floors above.”

The yard was cordoned off,with access allowed only to dock safety officials,BMC firemen (the first responders),National Disaster Response Force,pollution control officials and policemen. Experts from Century Rayon and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers were also called in.

Fire department chief Uday Tatkare said,“Our first strategy was to neutralise the impact and check the spread of the gas. The cylinder,weighing 615 kilograms and containing chlorine,was corroded and in a very bad state of wear-and-tear. We created a water curtain around the cylinder and ensured that the gas stayed concentrated on one end of the yard.”

Additional Commissioner of Police R K Padmanabhan said,“Prima facie it’s a case of negligence and we will file charges against unknown officials of Mumbai Port Trust concerned with the yard.”

Health Minister Vijay Kumar Gavit,who went to the spot,said,“We are yet to ascertain whether the spot falls under the state government. If it does,we will initiate an inquiry.” Gavit and Mayor Shraddha Jadhav also visited those admitted to J J Hospital.

Hospitals put 24 persons in ICCUs (intensive critical care units) and MICUs (medical intensive care units) with various respiratory problems. Of the 36 maritime students,14 are in intensive critical care. Those admitted included 20 firemen,15 workers of the dockyard,two Customs officials and a constable with Sewree police station.

141 drums forgotten and worn out,oldest a ‘97 import

From the emergency review by the Port Trust on Wednesday,a key detail missing was who owns the “culprit cylinder” — a fireman’s description of the corroded,615-kilogram cylindrical drum that leaked due to “wear and tear”.

Port records list 141 such drums,136 as “empty” and five as “filled with chlorine gas”. Imported at “some point of time”,they have been lying for years in the special yard for hazardous cargo. Many cylinders remain unclaimed. “The oldest is from a 1997 consignment; the importers failed to clear Customs duties and procedures,” said the Port Trust spokesperson.

The procedure requires such cargo to be transferred to a separate warehouse before disposing of it,either by auction or by destroying it with safeguards against hazards. Port officials say they had written to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board in 2008 seeking permission for disposal and procedural guidelines. Board officials,however,said they got no such letter. ENS