Ammonia Gas Leak at Chhapra Cold Storage; Situation Under Control

An ammonia gas leak occurred at a cold storage plant in Chhapra, Bihar. Fire officials responded quickly and brought the situation under control. An investigation has been launched into the facility's lack of safety measures and its license.

An incident of ammonia gas leak took place at a cold storage plant in the Hemnagar area of Chhapra on Friday, officials said.

Regional Fire Officer Suraj Kumar said the team reached the spot immediately after receiving information about the leak and brought the situation under control with minimal leakage. He added that an engineer is expected to arrive shortly to completely stop the leak. "We got the information of a gas leak. We reached here immediately, and on reaching the scene, we got to know that ammonia gas had leaked from a cold storage. The situation is now under control with minimal leakage. The engineer will be reaching soon who will help stop the leak completely," Regional Fire Officer told ANI.

Investigation Launched Over Safety Lapses

An investigation has been launched into the licensing of the Hemnagar cold storage facility after local authorities shut down its pipelines following the gas leak and cited a critical lack of safety measures. Saran SDM Nitesh Kumar says, "We received information of ammonia gas leak at a cold storage plant... We have come here for inspection. The main supply pipelines have been closed... Efforts were made to mitigate the situation by spraying water to help settle and filter out the ammonia from the atmosphere. The plant lacked adequate safety measures, so we will be investigating the grounds on which it was provided a license by the Agriculture Department..." Further details are awaited.

Separate Fire Incident in Muzaffarpur

Meanwhile, earlier, on Thursday, five people died in the fire that broke out at a private hospital in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, while 18 patients remain hospitalised, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Tushar Kumar said. Speaking to reporters, Kumar said the situation was now under control and that authorities were closely monitoring the condition of the injured. The SDM also noted that the compensation had already been provided to 33 affected families, while assistance to the remaining beneficiaries would be disbursed soon.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)