Chlorine gas leak in Iraq’s south injures at least 300

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say a chlorine gas leak at a water purification plant in southern Iraq injured at least 300 people. 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. That’s according to the province’s deputy governor. Dhi Qar is among Iraq’s poorest and and historically most underdeveloped provinces. Residents complain of a lack of electricity and access to drinking water.