Seven people, all of them women, were reported killed, while several were hospitalized due to an alleged ammonia gas leak at a Kanigaibare shrimp processing facility near Periyapalayam in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district, PTI reported.
The ammonia gas leak was first reported on Sunday afternoon at the St. Peter Paul Seafood Exports facility at Kanigappair near Periyapalayam in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district, with initial reports suggesting that more than 20 people were affected by the incident, PTI reported.
A total of 67 workers affected by the gas leak were shifted to nearby hospitals, said S Kavitha, Tiruvallur district collector.
Read also | Tamil Nadu conducts social justice survey after 2027 caste census, seeks fair share of central taxes: Governor
46 of them were admitted to Vels Hospital, while 21 were transferred to Venkateshwara Hospital for treatment. Nine patients in critical condition were later transferred by ambulance to Government Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai for advanced medical care, it added.
NDRF team at the accident site
Following an alert from the Tiruvallur District Debt Collection Office, the headquarters of the 4th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at Arakkonam was mobilized to respond to the emergency.
A 30-member NDRF team from Chennai reached the site equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE), gas detectors and specialized chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) rescue equipment to carry out emergency response operations.
Seven women have been confirmed dead so far while rescue and mitigation efforts are underway at the facility, officials said.
In another incident the previous day, one person was killed and 26 others injured after an explosion occurred at a fireworks manufacturing unit near Ittiyapuram in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu on Saturday, police said.
(with PTI inputs)
