At least 11 people are dead, and 11 more have been hospitalized due to a gas leak at a factory in Ludhiana, India on April 30.

The entire region is being evacuated by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

“The incident of gas leak in the factory in Giaspura area of ​​Ludhiana is very sad,” Bhagwant Mann, Punjab’s chief minister, said in a tweet. “Police, government and NDRF teams are present at the spot. All possible help is being provided.”

“It is quite likely that maybe some chemical reacted with methane in manholes,” Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik told reporters. “… All of this is being verified. NDRF is retrieving samples.”

A gas leak at a factory in Ludhiana, Punjab, killed 11 lives and seriously injured 4 people. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other emergency services flocked to the plant, along with a medical team and a fire brigade. Four more people, who were taken ill, are undergoing treatment at a hospital. A rescue team was rushed to the spot, and doctors, an ambulance, and a fire brigade team have also been stationed at the spot.

The affected area has been cordoned off. Police said the casualties comprise five women and six men. Two boys, aged 10 and 13, are among the 11 who died in the incident. Though the source of the leakage and the type of the gas were yet to be ascertained, the officials said that they suspected that the poisonous gas was released after some chemical was disposed of in the sewerage in the area and reacted with methane.

Giaspura is a thickly populated area with a migrant population. Several industrial and residential buildings are located here. All the victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and had been staying in Ludhiana