On October 19, more than forty people with symptoms of poisoning were admitted to the hospital in Thuong Tin district, Hanoi. According to local media, all of them are workers at the scrap metal collection point and residents of neighbouring houses in Thuong Phuc commune.
Preliminary information suggests the cause was a gas leak from a cylinder that arrived at the yard together with other scrap. One of the workers accidentally struck the valve, and the gas, believed to be chlorine, began to spread through the area. The first casualties arrived at Thuong Tin's multidisciplinary hospital at around six in the morning.
Patients complained of dizziness, blurred vision, chest pain and other signs of irritation to the respiratory tract. Some required intensive care and mechanical ventilation. Forty-two people were admitted to the Thuong Tin hospital, and six of them, in serious condition, were transferred to Bach Mai, the capital's hospital.
Nguyen Trung Nguyen, director of the poison control centre at Bach Mai hospital, told journalists that two of the patients transferred there are in a very critical state. A 50-year-old man has suffered lung damage and is in shock; doctors do not rule out that he may need ECMO, an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, to save his life. Another patient, 37 years old, suffered a burn to the cornea of his right eye, and doctors fear he may lose vision in that eye.
The Hanoi Department of Health has ordered Thuong Tin hospital to mobilise all resources to help the victims. Teams of specialists from three other city hospitals have been sent to the district. Rescue workers at the scene sprayed water to suppress the gas and ensured the safety of the area. Authorities are working to determine where the cylinder came from and the exact cause of the leak.
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