5 factory workers die after inhaling toxic fumes, nearly 20 others hospitalised in Gujarat

Five workers of a dyeing factory died and over a dozen others were hospitalised after they inhaled toxic fumes emanating from a chemical tanker parked nearby in Surat district of Gujarat on Thursday, officials said.

The workers were sleeping inside the factory, they said.

”At least five workers have died at a hospital, where some 25 of them were rushed as they fell unconscious after inhaling toxic fumes coming out of a chemical tanker parked near their factory in Sachin GIDC area,” said Basant Pareek, in-charge Chief Fire Office of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).

The workers were sleeping inside the factory at the time of the incident. They were rushed to the New Civil Hospital, he said.

Pareek said the tanker was trying to dispose of toxic chemicals illegally. The fire department, which received a call regarding the incident around 4.25 am, managed to close the valve to arrest the leakage of fumes.