On Saturday, 58 patients were shifted following leakage of gas from an LPG storage tank at the hospital premises. (File photo) Residents from buildings and chawls located nearby Kasturba Hospital in Chinchpokli East were allowed to return home late Saturday night after the Mumbai fire brigade and a team of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) successfully completed decanting of the leaked LPG tank.
The fire brigade officials have also given a go-ahead to the hospital to occupy a building that was vacated after gas leakage.
On Saturday, 58 patients, including 28 Covid-19 infected, were shifted from building number 148, located on the hospital premises, to another following leakage of gas from an LPG storage tank at the hospital. Residents of nearby buildings and chawls, too, were asked to vacate their premises to ensure there was no risk to them in the aftermath of the leakage.
Officials from Mumbai Fire Brigade said Sunday the situation was normal and as a precautionary measure a fire engine, water tanker and Hazmat have been kept on standby on the hospital premises.
According to the BMC officials, the hospital building that was evacuated after the leakage was occupied Sunday. “The RT-PCR test lab will function from Monday as there was no impact of leakage. The leaked LPG storage tank is also ready to be used,” said a civic official.
Chief Fire Officer Hemant Parab said experts from HPCL helped in decanting of the leaked LPG storage tank and thereafter a leakage detector machine was used to ensure there was no leakage in the area. Decanting was completed by late Saturday evening.
“There was 4 metric tonne gas in the LPG tank when the leakage started. A vehicle from HPCL was brought for decanting. It is a very specialized job as there is always a risk of accidents while transferring the gas. Now, the situation is completely under control and we have allowed residents living in nearby buildings and chawls to go home late in the night,” Parab told The Indian Express. The LPG storage tank had a capacity of 10 metric tonnes.
Parab added that the hospital administration has been told that they could move patients back into the vacated building. “A huge disaster was averted. Now there is no risk,” he said.
Dr Chandrakant Pawar, the medical superintendent of Kasturba Hospital, was not available for comment.
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