Three people were hospitalised after chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder near Sukhatal Pump House in Uttarakhand's Nainital on Thursday, officials said. A team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, administration and doctors reached the spot and started evacuating people from their homes, they said.

The chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder kept in the Jal Sansthan, they said. Chlorine is a poisonous gas which causes difficulty in breathing as well as vomiting and nausea. Nainital District Magistrate Vandana Singh said there was a leak from a 50 kg cylinder of chlorine gas, due to which 100 people living in 25-30 houses nearby had to be taken away from there.