Ammonia leakage at the Phulpur unit of Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) in Prayagraj claimed the lives of two officials and left over a dozen workers seriously sick on Tuesday night.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya expressed grief at the death of the two officials of IFFCO’s Phulpur unit in the ammonia leakage.
Prima facie, a mechanical failure appears to be the cause behind this accident while details will be known after the technical inquiry committee submits its report.
It was around 10:30 on Tuesday night when ammonia gas started oozing out from a production plant.
Panic gripped the workers who ran helter-skelter to save their lives, but two officers, deputy manager (offsite) Abhay Nandan, and assistant manager (urea) VP Singh tried to find out the fault and set it right and in this process they fell unconscious.
Later they breathed their last in the hospital.
As many as 14 workers were rushed to hospital and four of them are said to be in a serious condition.
IFFCO Phulpur public relations officer Vishwajit Srivastava confirmed the death of two officials.
The IFFCO Phulpur unit is situated on Prayagraj-Gorakhpur highway, 30 kilometres away from the city. It has two units each of urea and ammonia production.
Things were normal in the night shift till 10:30 pm but suddenly ammonia leakage changed the scene and an emergency was sounded.
Officials and employees ran for help but by that time two officials and 14 other employees had fallen victim to ammonia. They were immediately rushed to hospital where the doctors could not save the lives of the two managers.
IFFCO Managing Director and CEO Dr Uday Shankar Awasthi deeply regretted the sad and unfortunate accident that happened on Tuesday night due to mechanical failure at the IFFCO Phulpur ammonia urea unit.
He said the employees at the site fought bravely to handle the situation.
“Our two officers laid down their lives tackling the accident and saving the lives of their other colleagues. My deepest condolences to their family and friends. The situation at the accident site is now under control. Other employees are also stable now and undergoing appropriate treatment,” he said, adding that prima facie the accident at the ammonia urea unit was caused by a mechanical failure.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief at the death of the two IFFCO Phulpur unit officials in the ammonia gas leak and announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for their family members.
He also directed the officials of the district administration to arrange for the best possible treatment for the accident victims.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, while expressing profound grief at the death of the two officials and nearly two dozen people falling sick due to ammonia gas leak, instructed the officers of the district administration to take concrete steps for the treatment of the affected and immediate protection of the villagers.
He also said that the entire matter be investigated and report be submitted.
State cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’ in a tweet, expressed condolences to the families of the deceased officer.
Phulpur MP Kesari Devi Patel and Allahabad MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi also described the incident as tragic.