BAGHDAD—A chlorine gas leak at a water purification plant in southern Iraq injured at least 300 people, officials said Monday.
The incident happened Sunday night when the potentially fatal gas leaked from a container in the plant in the district of Qal’at Sukkar north of the southern city of Nasiriyah.
Hundreds of people suffering severe respiratory distress from exposure to the chlorine were taken to a nearby hospital, said Abbas Jaber, Dhi Qar province’s deputy governor.
He said a committee was formed by the governor Monday to investigate the circumstances surrounding the leak. “The negligent (officials) will be held accountable,” he said….