1 killed, 3 injured in gas leak in Haldiram’s Noida plant

The dead worker has been identified as Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Murali Phoolpur village in Meerut, who worked as the ammonia operator in the plant.

One person was killed and three others developed breathing problems on Saturday after a gas leak in one of the buildings of snack manufacturer Haldiram’s plant in Noida, officials said.

People gathered outside as rescue operations continue outside Haldiram building in Noida. (@SinghAmis0777/Twitter)

Gautam Budh Nagar Police’s deputy commissioner (Zone-2) Harish Chander said he along with his team and fire-fighters rushed to the spot in Sector 65 after receiving an emergency call at around 12pm.

“As soon as we reached, we saw the people coughing and gasping for breath. We cordoned the area for nearly an hour to immediately evacuate the employees working in that building,” Chander said.

“We also asked the workers of the neighbouring building to come out immediately. The gas leak took place through the valve of one of the four ammonia condensers in the maintenance unit where around 22 people were working and evacuated. One of them was taken to a hospital, where he died later,” he said.

The dead worker has been identified as Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Murali Phoolpur village in Meerut, who worked as the ammonia operator in the plant.

“The cause of his death can only be ascertained after the post-mortem, but prima facie it appears a case of death due to asphyxia,” he said.

“The other three have been discharged after getting primary treatment from a nearby private hospital. They had been complaining of breathing problem,” he added.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which was also present at the spot, immediately restricted the gas flow.

“There are two adjoining units of Haldiram’s in the building. One was the production unit and the other was its cooling or maintenance unit. Now, the situation is under control,” said NDRF’s assistant commandant Anil Kumar Singh.