202 Residents Suffocated from Gas Leakage in Omdurman

Khartoum -- Two hundred and two citizens suffocated due to leak of gas north of vegetable market in Omdurman yesterday morning after a street boy turned on a gas container which caused losing consciousness and death   among citizens.
Major General Abdel Rahman Al Tayib Al-Norabi, Commissioner of criminal Department in Khartoum said that the incident occurred when a street boy pulled a valve of gas container in order to sell it as a scrap copper, which led to leaking of the gas. He said upon receiving the information a police force made up of patrol teams rescue and civil defense vehicles rushed to the site of the incident in coordination with the Headquarters of the Locality, affirming that the leakage has caused suffocation of 202 citizens at the vegetable market and the old slaughterhouse, who were rushed to the hospital for aid and treatment. The Commissioner assured that all the victims have not left the hospital except four receiving further medication, but their conditions are stable, he said.
The criminal detectives took samples of the leaking gas and cylinders for examination.
The paper has learned that the gas cylinders were at a place for vending scrap metals owned by a local resident. A case has been filed and the location has been secured by rescue and operations and civil defense police, while the police have embarked on legal measures. 
The Commissioner said that the gas leaked from old cylinders condensed with gas, which affected some citizens who were taken to hospital for treatment with oxygen, adding that victims are in stable situation except for four others who are kept under observation, affirming the police has contained the situation and things are stable now with no threat. 
Dr. Nada Babikir, chest and internal diseases specialist, said the hospital started to receive the gas victims since yesterday morning. She added that signs of infections were clear in their eyes and were having difficulty breathing. The medical personnel classified the situations according to seriousness and that the hospital set up additional emergency room due to increasing victims, some of them were in desperate need of oxygen, Nada said, affirming that no victim was released before the personnel on duty checked their situation and that they fully recovered. She said no death of suffocation among the victims was recorded at the hospital, adding that they are waiting the police report to find out the type of gas that caused the problems. The owner of cylinder, Al-Tijani Khalifa said he bought it at a government auction and has official documents from Wadi Halfa Terminal, and that he didn’t know anything about the gas, and that he placed the cylinder in that location after renting it from local authority.