Chlorine gas leak in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur; SDM, DSP among 34 hospitalised
Rudrapur/Dehradun, Aug 30: More than 30 people, including an SDM and a DSP, were hospitalised on Tuesday after they took ill following a chlorine gas leak from a cylinder at a scrap godown in a busy residential area in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district.
The SDM and DSP had gone to the spot to launch rescue operations, police said, adding that so far 34 people have been hospitalized after they complained of burning sensation in eyes, nausea and difficulty in breathing.
Some of the victims had even begun to faint, they said.
The mishap took place early in the morning in the busy Azad Nagar Transit Camp area of Rudrapur. People began to faint and scamper about in panic as the toxic gas began to leak, officials said. Senior administrative and police officials with fire tenders, ambulances and an SDRF team rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations.
The affected people were laid inside the ambulances and administered oxygen, the officials said. While trying to move the leaking cylinder away, SDM Kaustubh Mishra and DSP Ashish Bhardwaj also fell ill, they said, adding some firemen also started feeling dizzy and began to vomit.
The leaking cylinder was later thrown into an open field and disposed of to prevent the situation from going worse, police said.
Of 34 people who have been hospitalized, nine, including the SDM and the DSP, were admitted to the ICU of a hospital.
District Magistrate Yugal Kishore Pant and SSP Manjunath TC later visited the hospital to enquire about the condition of those admitted.
The SSP said all of them are now out of danger and will soon be discharged from hospital.
It is yet to be found out how the chlorine gas cylinder found its way to the scrap dealer's godown in a busy area and what led to the gas leak, the district magistrate said.
A campaign will soon be launched to ensure that banned gas cylinders don't reach residential areas, Pant said.
The DM also ordered that a case be registered against the scrap dealer, and the rodents that died inside his godown due to the gas leak should be sent for testing to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute ( IVRI), Bareilly.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
