Gas escaped near a residential area at a scrap business outside Hanoi, Vietnam, after a worker accidentally dislodged a cylinder cap, sending 40 people to the hospital.
Workers and nearby residents had trouble breathing, and the leak also scorched and wilted nearby trees and plants.
Here's what to know
VnExpress International said the leak began around 7 a.m. on Oct. 19 at Nguyen Huu Doan's scrap business in Thuong Phuc Commune.
An employee accidentally tossed a piece of scrap iron onto a valve, knocking a cylinder cap loose and letting the gas inside escape.
The cylinders were awaiting processing on an open lot measuring more than 1,076 square feet (100 square meters) beside homes on Duong Truc Nguyen Street.
People nearby started to have difficulty breathing as the gas spread, and the leak hurt nearby vegetation, leaving trees and plants wilted and their leaves scorched.
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Thuong Tin General Hospital received 40 people with suspected gas poisoning, including scrapyard workers and residents from the surrounding area. One man suffered severe lung damage and shock, and many needed ECMO — a machine for adding oxygen to the blood outside of the body. Another had substantial damage to the cornea of his right eye, a serious risk to his vision.
To handle the sudden influx, the hospital added doctors and nurses to the emergency department and grouped patients by the severity of their condition.
What's being done?
Hanoi police's fire prevention and rescue department sent a team with the commune's Military Command to contain the leak and manage the area around the scrap business.
At the site, authorities sprayed water over the affected area to dilute the gas and then cordoned off the location.
Of the 40 patients, the two in the gravest condition were transferred to Bach Mai Hospital's Poison Control Center. Three others remained in intensive treatment, and the remaining 35 stayed under observation for at least 12 hours.
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