LAHORE: Two labourers died while as many fainted after ammonia gas leaked at a factory at Multan Chungi here on Monday.

According to initial reports, the factory management had stored ammonia gas in a godown to ripen fruit. Four workers were present in the store when suddenly the gas started leaking, leaving them unconscious. Their associates brought them out of the affected area, according to an official of the Gulshan-i-Ravi police station.

He said two of the labourers, including 15-year-old Omer Farooq and 24-year-old Akhtar, died on the way to hospital, while condition of two others was stated to be normal. The police official said apparently the cause of the gas leak was not determined as investigations were under way.

The factory owner who was not present at the time of the incident has been asked to appear before police for questioning. Bodies of the workers were shifted to the city morgue for autopsy.

The official further said they were working closely with the departments concerned, including city district government, to investigate how the incident occurred. He said it seemed safety measures were not taken for the working staff.

Action will be taken on completion of the investigation into the gas leak incident, he concluded.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2017