HYDERABAD: Panic gripped the Shalibanda area in the Old City on Saturday afternoon after the emission of a strange gas from an unknown chemical was reported.
According to locals, all of a sudden, people felt a burning sensation in their eyes, following the spill of a liquid chemical that leaked from a container being transported in an autorickshaw.
The effect of the burning sensation in the eyes was so intense that people started running towards their homes and shutting the doors in panic so that other family members did not get affected. Some even speculated that an explosion would follow.
Some people poured water on the liquid when a pungent smell started emanating from it. Soon smoke started emerging from the chemical spilled on the road and this upped the fear factor in the public.
In panic, people started running helter-skelter creating further panic and fear in the locality. Locals then alerted the police about the incident. Mr N. Lingaiah, Inspector of Police, Shalibanda said, “We have not been able to identify the form of chemical which had spilled on the road. By the time we reached, the chemical had vaporised; by then, we had also alerted the local fire brigade team, thinking that the chemical might catch fire, but nothing happened. We are checking the CCTV footages to track the vehicle to detect the chemical’s details.”
