Ammonia tanker leak leaves people gasping

MUMBAI: An RCF tanker loaded with ammonia gas, which was headed for a heavy water plant at the Department of Atomic Energy in Tuticorin, developed a leakage near Pezari village between Alibaug and Vadkhal early on Tuesday. The leakage left villagers gasping for breath and caused irritation in their eyes. The village has 1,500 houses and 6,000 people.
The tanker driver abandoned the vehicle in the village and fled the spot, following which the police was summoned.Assistant inspector RN Raje said, “The leak started at 5am in the capsule valve of the tanker, which belonged to V Kay Translines Pvt Ltd. The spot had to be evacuated as many people, including our personnel, experienced breathing trouble and eye irritation.”
“We had to call a local, Rohan Patil, to drive the vehicle to a deserted spot. We tried to push a tree branch into the valve area, but it was of no use. The operation lasted till 7.15am. RCF experts too failed to arrest the leakage, ” he added. Patil said, “After the police failed to stop the leak, I covered my face with a cloth and drove the tanker back to RCF Thal unit, which is about 3.5km away.”
RCF Thal PRO Dhananjay Khamkar said, “The dipstick of the capsule valve may have broken due to bad roads.