TUTICORIN, July 6: At least 98 persons, including 94 women, working in a unit situated next to the Sterlite Copper Smelter plant here were hospitalised after they reportedly inhaled poisonous gas emitted by the smelter plant on Saturday.The total figure is put around 150 and many workers are said to have been admitted to private hospitals.

The `gas leak' reportedly occurred in the afternoon during the launch of a new unit to recover copper from waste in the factory.All the victims were working at a unit processing flowers for exports, adjacent to the smelter plant. They reportedly suffered fits and bouts of cough and nausea and were rushed to the hospital. Of the 36 women admitted to the Government Hospital, seven are in the intensive care unit. Others were discharged after being given first aid.District Collector C Muthukumarasamy said on Saturday night that the district administration had decided to order the closure of the Sterlite plant. It will also file a case against the plant.

Tuticorin GH Medical Superintendent Ponniah said medication to dilate the air passage and reduce inflammation was on its way. The 36 women had been admitted in two wards. Another ward was being kept ready for further emergencies.The Collector rushed to Tuticorin from Kovilpatti where he was camping and visited the victims at the hospital.Soon after the incident, anti-Sterlite activists led by Tuticorin Municipal Chairman Henry staged a road blockade near the hospital. Earlier, the agitators hurled stones at shops in the Thenpagam police station area. All shopkeepers in the area downed their shutters. Later, they staged a dharna in front of the Pillaiyar temple. The Collector reached the spot and tried to pacify them.Stating that the gas had leaked from the chimney of Sterlite plant, the Collector said he was going to visit the plant. But the agitators demanded the immediate closure of the plant and refused to leave the place.

The Collector returned to the hospital shortly after that.The Rs 1,300-crore Sterlite copper smelter plant has been at the centre of a controversy ever since its inception as critics thought it could be a source of serious chemical pollution in the area.Meanwhile, the company has denied that there was any gas leak from its plant. In a press release, it said the report about the leak from the plant was only a rumour. All its employees were working at the unit at the time of the said mishap, it claimed.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.