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When chlorine reigned on Penrith Estate
Residents of Penrith Estate in Puwakpitiya-Avissawella panicked on Wednesday night (October 9) when a strong smell accompanied by fumes emanated from the water supply station within the estate. Villagers recalling that night, told the Sunday Times that around 8.30 they heard a loud rumbling sound from the station as if a heavy iron container had fallen from a height. They saw smoke rising from the station accompanied by a strong odour that caused breathing difficulties. Some residents lost consciousness while others started vomiting.
A young child receiving treatment and (left) two women being given oxygen. Pix by Indika Handuwala
When the villagers ran up to the water station they were informed that there was a leak in a chlorine cylinder. There are more than 40 houses in the vicinity with more than one family living in a house. S. Chandrakumar (38), a father of three said his house is very close to the station and his children and wife started experiencing breathing difficulties.
“After about 20 minutes everyone found it very difficult to breathe as they started to choke with the strong smell of chlorine gas spreading all over,” he said. S.Phelomina (47) another villager from the estate said, “My house is situated about 500 metres away from the water supply station however the chlorine gas affected my daughter who vomited and later fainted. She said people started rushing to the Avissawella Base Hospital and by 12.30 a.m. it was crowded.
Meanwhile Hospital sources said 302 were admitted on Wednesday night and of them two were admitted to the ICU and by 8 a.m. the following day 67 remained in hospital. Among those seeking treatment 20 were children. The hospital director Dr. Mahinda Rankothge said most of the people had respiratory problems.
Military personnel from the camps in Panagoda and Kosgama and officials from the Disaster Management Centre had also rushed to the scene. The engineer at the Water Supply station, R.A.S Ananda said that this station came under the Avissawella New Town Water Supply Project.
He denied charges that a gas line had burst. He said the mishap occurred during the routine practice of changing chlorine cylinders that are connected to the water supply line. “On Wednesday night the technician who usually handles this task had detected fumes leaking from the chlorine container and had rolled the cylinder into one of the water tanks.”
He added that although the technician had a gas mask on he too was affected by the leak and was admitted to hospital. The noise that the villagers heard was when the technician pushed the cylinder into the tank. “People came running to the station when they saw the fumes and we asked them to disperse from the premises. However they did not, as a result these people got affected by the strong fumes. We also made announcements to the villagers to evacuate from the nearby areas and go to higher ground as the gas spread easier to lower areas.”
He said the chlorine gas cylinders were distributed by Paranthan Chemicals and officials from the company are carrying out investigations.Meanwhile, The Penrith Estate residents have been advised against consuming well water as it maybe polluted by chlorine.
“We have provided bowser water to the people,” Mr. Ananda said. Penrith Estate Superintendent Gihan Perera has asked the people to leave their houses until the situation was brought under control. A majority of the residents are temporarily housed at the Avissawella Tamil Maha Vidyala.
Residents of the estate told the Sunday Times they had made many requests earlier that the water station be relocated to prevent such mishaps.
Additional reporting: Ranjani Somachandra
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