PeterGriffin
Elite
A suspected ammonia leak caused panic among residents of the Antop Hill area of Wadala when they woke up to a pungent smell on Saturday morning.
Civic officials said the fire brigade and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s disaster management cell received calls from worried residents suffering from irritation in their eyes and minor respiratory problems. However, no casualties or hospitalisation was reported till later in the day.
The calls started coming in around 8.30 am. The effect of the chemical in the air was completely gone by 11.30 am. The fire brigade was, however, unable to ascertain the origin and cause of the leakage till Saturday evening. Chief Fire Officer Uday Tatkare said the smell was believed to have started in Antop Hill area and then spread to other parts of Wadala, Sion, Matunga, King’s Circle, Dadar, Mahim and Shivaji Park.
“Our chemistry expert in the fire brigade consulted some officials from the Rashtriya Chemical Fertilisers (RCF) who came to the affected areas and confirmed that the gas is ammonia and that it is present in a very low concentration. We made calls to all manufacturing units in the vicinity but none of them seemed to have stored ammonia. We are suspecting that the leakage could be from a container or a tanker in transit. But we have not been able to trace the exact location of the leakage,” said Tatkare.
Another official from the fire brigade said the leakage was not continuous as it was neutralised in a few hours.
Civic officials said the fire brigade and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s disaster management cell received calls from worried residents suffering from irritation in their eyes and minor respiratory problems. However, no casualties or hospitalisation was reported till later in the day.
The calls started coming in around 8.30 am. The effect of the chemical in the air was completely gone by 11.30 am. The fire brigade was, however, unable to ascertain the origin and cause of the leakage till Saturday evening. Chief Fire Officer Uday Tatkare said the smell was believed to have started in Antop Hill area and then spread to other parts of Wadala, Sion, Matunga, King’s Circle, Dadar, Mahim and Shivaji Park.
“Our chemistry expert in the fire brigade consulted some officials from the Rashtriya Chemical Fertilisers (RCF) who came to the affected areas and confirmed that the gas is ammonia and that it is present in a very low concentration. We made calls to all manufacturing units in the vicinity but none of them seemed to have stored ammonia. We are suspecting that the leakage could be from a container or a tanker in transit. But we have not been able to trace the exact location of the leakage,” said Tatkare.
Another official from the fire brigade said the leakage was not continuous as it was neutralised in a few hours.
