SCORES of people were treated in hospital today after a chlorine leak from an industrial area in Mumbai, officials said.

At least 10 people were in intensive care after the leak, which the city’s chief fire officer Uday Tatkare said happened in the Sewri industrial area on land owned by the Mumbai Port Trust.

“One of three cylinders stored in a courtyard at a warehouse owned by the trust leaked. The leakage has been brought under control and we are in damage control mode,” he told a reporter by telephone from the scene.

Firefighters in protective suits sprayed metal cylinders at the site, which has been cordoned off as a precaution during the clean-up operation.

Four firefighters were among more than 80 people taken to the state-run Jamshetjee Jejeebhoy Hospital suffering from breathing problems, the fire chief said.

A hospital spokesman said 72 people were in a stable condition while 10 others were in intensive care. At least seven other people were being treated in other hospitals.

The land owned by the Mumbai Port Trust is an industrial area mainly used for storage and delivery of cargo and containers. It has many derelict factories and warehouses and is also home to a slum.

Mumbai Port Trust chairman Rahul Asthana told reporters that some operators using the site import empty chlorine cylinders and fill them for re-use.

“Some residual chlorine appears to have been left and that leaked out into the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s under control. We have put sodium hydroxide on it.”

Chlorine is used as a common disinfectant and in water treatment to prevent communicable diseases like cholera and typhoid and has applications in industries like textiles, printing, plastics and pharmaceuticals.

It was also used as a chemical weapon in World War I.

Breathing in chlorine gas can cause coughing and vomiting as well as irritation to eyes, while prolonged exposure may cause permanent lung damage, respiratory failure and even death.