11 dead in gas leak incident in India

The death toll from gas leak in India's Punjab state rose to 11 on Sunday, a local administration official told Xinhua over phone.

The accident occurred in the thickly-populated Giaspura area in Punjab's Ludhiana city with several factories. Local authorities suspect that dumping of some chemicals from a factory into the sewer led to the emission of poisonous gas resulting in the deaths.

Among the dead were three minors and five women. They also included five members of a family.

At least four persons who fell sick were still in a local hospital. All the victims were migrant laborers hailing from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the eastern state of Bihar.

The source of the gas leakage and the type of the gas were yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government announced compensation of 200,000 Indian Rupees (around 2,446 U.S. dollars) to the families of each of the dead, and 50,000 Indian Rupees (around 611 dollars) to each of those who fell sick.