At least eleven people died, including two children, and four others were hospitalized in the Indian state of Punjabin the northwest of the country, due to a gas leak in a factory.
The fatalities are five women and six menand the deceased children were 10 and 13 years old, reported the Police of the town of Ludhiana, where the tragedy occurred, in a statement collected by the Indian chain NDTV.
A 50-member team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is working at the site, which was fenced off while police evacuated residents from the densely populated area.
The deputy commissioner of Ludhiana, Surabhi Malik, estimated that the leak could have occurred as a result of a combination between a chemical agent from the factory and methane accumulated in the sewers that pass through the building, the DPA news agency reported.
Last August, at least 112 women were hospitalized after a gas leak at a manufacturing plant in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
This incident occurred after nearly 200 women were left unconscious in June after a leak in the same area, NDTV reported, according to the AFP agency.