5 hospitalised with breathing problem, burning eyes in Delhi

There were unconfirmed reports that the incident occurred due to a toxic gas leak in the area which was denied by the police. "Investigation is going to find out the reason of the incident after which necessary action will be taken," the police official told IANS.

The incident was first reported to the Fire department which received a call about the fire in a cylinder around 9.20 p.m. on Wednesday in H. No. 45 R, Sonia Gandhi Camp, Sector-6, Ekta Vihar, RK Puram, after which two fire tenders were immediately pressed into service. As the fire engines reached the spot, they didn't find any blaze.

"It was reported that some unknown toxic gas has leaked in the area, however, the source of leakage could not be traced out and the charge was handed over to the local police," Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg told IANS, adding that all the fire tenders returned at 11.00 p.m. and there were no casualties.

The five people, who were having difficulty in breathing along with itchy eyes, were admitted to Safdarjung hospital in the city.

Police informed that they received the information about the incident at the same time around 9.15-9.20 p.m. after which SHO RK Puram along with other officials reached the spot.

The official confirmed to IANS that there was "no toxic gas leak" in the area.

"There was no fire in any gas cylinder and no fumes were found emanating from any place in the Ekta Vihar area," the official said, adding that the situation is now normal. A Delhi Disaster Management Team was called by the police to assess the situation.

Fear and panic also gripped the Ekta Vihar colony as rumours of the toxic gas spread like wildfire.

Notably, the national capital is reeling under soaring levels of pollution and itchy eyes is one of the reactions after being exposed to the polluted air for a long time. As of Wednesday, the air quality in Delhi remains in 'very poor' category.