Gujarat: Fire in pharma unit leads to toxic gas formation in Bharuch's Sanjali village

SURAT: At least 1,000 people from Sanjali village in Bharuch district were shifted to a safer location after few residents complained of burning eyes on Wednesday night. The residents were allowed to return to their homes after the situation normalised in the early hours on Thursday.
The residents started complaining of burning eyes when efforts were being made to control a fire that had started in Aksharnidhi Pharma in Panoli GIDC on Wednesday afternoon. The firefighting continued till late night. The villagers were shifted to Kharod village primary school.
"Police started shifting people as a preventive measure when people complained of burning eyes. Around 1,000 people were shifted and they were allowed to return to their homes after a few hours when the situation normalised," said an officer of Bharuch district police.
Preliminary investigation by district administration and police revealed that the fire in the pharmaceutical unit and the efforts to control it led to gas formation. Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) officials are monitoring the air quality. A team Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) will collect samples from the spot to find out the reasons behind gas formation.
"It seems the use of water led to the gas formation. The solvent stored in the plant formed the gas and smoke due to the use of water and it could have created trouble for neighbouring villagers," said an officer from district collectorate.
"It is yet not clear exactly how the gas was formed but preliminary assessment says the gas formation happened during fire fighting because of use of water. The plant was damaged in fire and we are not able to collect samples. Further examination will reveal the exact cause of gas formation," said a GPCB official.
According to an official of the district administration, fire fighting teams are supposed to use foam to douse fire in industrial areas but in this case they used water.
"We have asked the disaster and fire teams to ensure use of foam in chemical units," the official said.