Officials said that six workers at an Indian dyeing and printing company were murdered, and more than 20 were hospitalized on Thursday (Jan 6) after inhaling toxic fumes created by an illegal chemical discharge.

At approximately 4 am, the accident occurred in the industrial metropolis of Surat in Gujarat state (6.30 am Singapore time).

According to police and a fire officer, the workers were inside the mill when chemicals were dropped nearby.

"Chemicals were being illegally discharged from a tanker into a rivulet close to the mill, which possibly reacted with another chemical in the water and created toxic gas," Surat Municipal Corporation head fire officer Basant Pareek told Reuters.

"The workers inhaled the gas and began to feel as if they were being suffocated. When we arrived on the site, we discovered the workers slumped on the road, attempting to flee."

Mr. Pareek reported that six workers died, and 23 were hospitalized, with seven in serious condition and on ventilators.

Sharad Singhal, a senior police official, said investigators were investigating but had not yet made any arrests.

"This was not a case of unintentional gas leakage. When the incident occurred, hazardous chemicals were being discharged,"'He stated.

In 1984, India suffered the world's worst industrial disaster when methyl isocyanate gas spilled from an American Union Carbide Corporation pesticide factory in Bhopal, killing over 5,000 people.