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Gas poisoning lands 30 in hospital
2007-07-18 09:14:00
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
Thirty workers with the Trishala Rolling Mills Ltd located at Themi Industrial Area are admitted to the regional Mount Meru Hospital, some in critical condition, after allegedly inhaling a poisonous gas at their workplace.
Trishala administration manager Martin Mkande and the hospital’s head, Dr Harold Mariki, confirmed the incident yesterday, saying efforts were being made to save the workers’ lives.
``My subordinates are working round the clock to keep the workers out of danger,`` Dr Mariki said in an interview, adding that the relevant officials were expected to take samples from the patients for testing to determine the type of gas they may have inhaled.
``We are as yet not certain on the kind of stuff that has put these people down but it is quite possible that they inhaled some poisonous gas,`` he noted further.
Meanwhile, manager Mkande said: ``I have very scanty details on the incident because I was not around when it happened.
However, so far, a total of 30 of our workers are admitted to the Arusha regional hospital (Mount Meru) following the unfortunate occurrence.``
One of the victims, Nurdin Atuman, said from his hospital bed yesterday that more than 30 workers suddenly fell unconscious after they had inhaled the poisonous gas and were soon rushed to the hospital.
Reached for comment, Arusha Regional Police Commander Basilio Matei said he had dispatched a team of police detectives to investigate the incident.
Sources say that victims were seen handling poisonous gas cylinders and metal scrap without any gloves, masks or other protective gear moments before they fainted.
This is the second such incident to occur in an Arusha-based factory in the last two months.
The first was in mid-May when six workers at Sunflag Tanzania Ltd, a textile mill, fell unconscious after inhaling toxic gas while packaging impregnated mosquito nets for export.
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