2023-07-30 11:28:56
The investigation authorities in Qena Governorate, in southern Egypt, ordered the renewal of the detention of a truck driver for causing a leak of chlorine gas, which resulted in the death of a woman and the injury of dozens of suffocators, a source familiar with the progress of the investigations told Sky News Arabia on Sunday.
The source revealed the details of the accident, according to what was included in the investigations, indicating that it occurred when a truck driver belonging to the Drinking Water and Wastewater Company, Qena branch, went to the headquarters of the mechanical campaign in the city of workers in the city center, to repair a malfunction in one of the wheels of the truck, which had an empty cylinder with remnants on board. Chlorine gas used to purify drinking water.
He continued, “While he was moving in the truck, something hit the valve of the chlorine cylinder, which led to gas leakage very quickly,” noting that “had it not been for the escape of many residents of the area outside their homes, a disaster might have occurred.”
The source added, “It is normal that such cylinders are completely secured and safe, and professional and trained truck drivers move them, but it is clear that there is a defect that caused the accident, which will be revealed by the Public Prosecution investigations.”
He stressed, “immediately arresting the driver responsible for the truck, as well as reviewing the procedures for moving such trucks designated for transporting chlorine gas cylinders.”
On the other hand, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in Qena, Raji Tawadros, told “Sky News Arabia” that the accident resulted in the injury of 90 people, including children and adults, with cases of suffocation, as a result of the widespread and rapid spread of gas in the residential area in the city of workers in the center of Qena.
He explained that the accident also resulted in the death of a woman who was brought to Qena General Hospital among the injured, noting that she is “elderly and has a history of chronic diseases.”
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He noted that all the injured, except for the deceased woman, had stabilized and were discharged from the hospital, following providing them with the necessary care and reassurance of their health status.
In the same context, the governor of Qena, Ashraf Al-Dawdy, instructed the officials of the Water and Sanitation Company to check safety measures so as not to repeat such an incident.
The governor also instructed the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Solidarity in Qena to pay appropriate financial compensation to those affected who had been in hospital for more than 24 hours.
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