Kochi reports chemical leak from IndianOil Adani Gas pipeline; Here's what we know

Kochi: The city woke up to pungent smell after a chemical leak from a gas pipeline of the Adani group on Saturday. The leakage reportedly started after 8 last night. By midnight, several parts of the city could smell the offensive odour.

The leak was discovered from the gas pipeline carrying butyl mercapton, an odorant for natural gas. The leak allegedly occurred during the maintenance work on the IndianOil-Adani Gas pipeline on Friday night.

Several residents in the Ernakulam district's Kalamassery, Kakkanad, Edappally, and CUSAT localities have complained about the strong chemical odour. Some of them were ill after inhaling the chemicals. Local residents said that they felt suffocation and had never experienced this before.

However, the company stated that the chemical is not toxic. n-Butyl mercaptan is a colourless, combustible liquid that smells strongly of garlic. Moreover, it serves as a chemical intermediary and solvent.

IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd. (IOAGPL) is a joint venture company of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) -- a Maharatna Company of the Government of India -- and Adani Total Gas Limited.

The Brahmapuram waste factory fire, which caused controversy, brought Kochi earlier into the spotlight. The fire at the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant earlier in March was the biggest man-made disaster that the state had seen. Huge clouds of smoke engulfed the city. Opposition leaders created a ruckus in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, stating that the government's negligence was the cause of this tragedy.

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• gas leak
• kochi
• Kerala