Six die, 100 complain of breathing problem as ammonia leaks from tanker

Six persons were killed and around 100 complained of breathing problem following a leak from a ammonia tanker early on Saturday near Ludhiana, police said.

The leak occurred when the tanker got stuck under a flyover on the Doraha Bypass Road along a canal, about 25 km from Ludhiana, they said.

Six persons died inhaling the gas and around 100 people complained of breathing problem, Doraha Police Station’s SHO Rajnish Kumar Sood said, adding that the bodies of the deceased were shifted to a hospital in Ludhiana..

Residents came out of their houses when the gas started spreading in and around Doraha, police said. The affected people were admitted to hospitals in Doraha, Khanna and Ludhiana.

The tanker, bearing a Gujarat registration number, was going from Ludhiana. Details were still awaited and identities of the victims yet to be ascertained, police said. Senior civil and police officers have rushed to the spot.