Representative image (AI-generated)
NEW DELHI: More than 22 people, including 15 children, were hospitalised on Sunday after inhaling toxic fumes near an industrial area in Sikar, Rajasthan. According to officials, local residents and students were among those admitted after experiencing difficulty in breathing. Sikar ADM Ratan Lal said preliminary investigations suggest the fumes may have originated from a nearby furnace where clothes were being burned. He added that the children affected are in stable condition. “The children brought here are nearly fine. We are investigating this and have deployed the Pollution Control Board. Twenty-two patients, including 15 children, have been admitted. Prima facie, the cause appears to be the burning of clothes in a nearby furnace,” Ratan Lal said.