Thirteen people have suffered severe gas poisoning and another 15 light injuries in an industrial accident at a bioethanol plant in Dunaföldvár, in central Hungary, on Friday. A seven-cubic-metre outdoor tank was refilled with an inappropriate substance, causing a chemical reaction which produced chlorine gas, the spokesman of Tolna County’s disaster management directorate told MTI.
Firefighters were at the site working to prevent the spread of the toxic gas, Péter Köves said. Also, industrial safety specialists and the disaster management’s mobile laboratory are on site taking measurements and appropriate action, he added. As no concentrated presence of the toxic gas has been measured in the air beyond the plant, local residents are not in any danger, he said.
Pál Győrfi, the spokesman of the national ambulance service, told MTI that several ambulances, four helicopters and a medical unit specialising in mass accidents have been dispatched to the scene. All those injured received medical aid and were taken to nearby hospital for further medical assessments, he said.
MTI
