A team of five doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Sunday visited Tughlaqabad, where a gas leak was reported on Saturday morning.
“All students and teachers affected by the leak are out of danger,” said Y. K. Gupta, the Head of the Pharmacology Department at AIIMS, who also heads the five-member team constituted by the Union Health Ministry, on Sunday.
‘All out of danger’
The five-member team later visited the hospitals where the victims were admitted.
“We have reserved beds in the eye care department and the emergency medicine section. The three students who were in the ICU are now out of danger. We, however, strongly feel that yards located in densely-populated areas, which deal with chemicals categorised as risky should be shifted. Thankfully, in this case, the chemical that contaminated the area isn’t hazardous in the long run,” Dr. Gupta added.
AIIMS, meanwhile, has provided a helpline number — 1800116117.
“We visited hospitals where the students were admitted and advised doctors about the line of treatment. To the common man, our first advice is not to panic. Those affected must remove contaminated clothing and rinse their eyes thoroughly,” he said.
Advisory released
In an advisory released on Saturday, AIIMS maintained that the leaked chemical — chloromethyl pyridine — was a general eye and respiratory irritant that causes redness and watering of eyes, along with symptoms like sneezing, coughing or difficulty in breathing.
The AIIMS team comprises V. Aggarwal, the Assistant Professor at RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences; Sharda Peshin, the senior scientist at the National Poison Information Centre, Department of Pharmacology; Karan Madan, the Associate Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine; and Pankaj Jorwal, the Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine.
“We found that most students had been discharged. Those still under observation are not in a serious condition and are being treated symptomatically,” the doctors said.
