Egypt: Dozens hospitalised after chlorine leak

Cairo: Dozens of locals had been transferred to hospitals in an Egyptian Delta province suffering suffocation due to a chlorine leak from a water plant, health authorities said.

The leak occurred Monday evening at a drinking water station in the province of Kafr Al Sheikh, about 135km north of Cairo, local authorities said.

The leak was brought under control in 30 minutes, the province’s Governor Maj. Gen Jamal Nour Eddin said.

The site was evacuated and residents in the vicinity were asked to observe preventive measures including tight closure of their house windows.

Police forces, meanwhile, deployed at the entrances to the province and ordered drivers to close windows of their vehicles, local media reported.

Some 94 out of a total of 106 people later left the hospital after treatment, the Health Ministry said.

“All citizens, who are still in hospitals, are in stable conditions and receiving the necessary medical care until their health improves,” the ministry added in a statement.

The cause of the leak is not known yet.