India, Nov. 26 -- A 59-year-old man died and 13 others, including five fire brigade personnel, were hospitalised after chlorine gas leaked from an old cylinder in Vasai East on Tuesday afternoon, triggering panic in the densely populated Diwanman area.

According to the fire brigade, the leak was reported around 3.30 pm from a 10 to 15-year-old chlorine cylinder kept near a municipal water tank close to Diwanman crematorium. Toxic green fumes coming from the cylinder quickly spread to nearby residential buildings and the adjoining road, causing breathlessness, vomiting and eye irritation among several residents.

After being alerted, fire brigade personnel from the Suncity fire station rushed to the scene. "While trying to plug the leak, ...