Eight people ill following gas leak in E India

At least eight people fell ill following a gas leak at a state-owned Rourkela Steel Plant in the eastern Indian state of Orissa Sunday, a senior police official said.

"Eight workers have been admitted to hospital after they fell ill following the gas leak in one of the blast furnaces. Four of them are said to be in serious condition," the official said.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, the official added.

A similar, but on a large scale, incident took place in 1984 when a storage tank containing methyl isocyanate at the Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked gas into the densely populated city of Bhopal in central India.

It was one of the worst industrial accidents in history which claimed the lives of over 15,000 people.

Source: Xinhua