Ammonia Leak At Seafood Factory Near Chennai Leaves Several Feared Dead, 40+ Hospitalised |
Chennai: Casualties were feared and over 40 migrant workers were hospitalised following an ammonia leak in a seafood factory near Chennai on Sunday afternoon. Initial reports put the number of those feared dead from two to seven. An official confirmation on the number of those feared killed was awaited at the time of filing of this report. The tragedy occurred at the premises of the St Peter and Paul Seafood Exports Pvt Ltd at Kannigaipair Village in Uthukottai Taluk of Tiruvallur district adjoining western Chennai. Following an alert, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed 30 personnel personnel, who reached the factory for rescue operations. The NDRF deployed a specialised Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) response team from its 4th Battalion in Arakkonam.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar expressed concern over the incident. “I am deeply saddened by the tragic ammonia gas leak incident at a shrimp processing factory in Kannigaipair Village, near Periyapalayam, Thiruvallur district, which has resulted in the loss of precious lives and caused injuries to several workers,” he said in a social media post.
The State DIPR said, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has instructed to form a Committee to enquire into the incident. “A 3 member committee with Director of Industrial Safety and Health, Member Secretary, Pollution Control Board and Additional Director of Public Health has been formed to submit an interim report in 24 hours and final report in 3 days,” it said.
Besides, Vijay instructed IT Minister, who is the Minister-in-charge for Tiruvallur, to rush to village along with the Monitoring Officer K.P. Karthikeyan, IAS “to give the best possible care to the affected in coordination with District Collector and district administration.”Sources said many of the affected workers hailed from Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand. They were staying on the factory premises when the gas leaked. while undergoing treatment. The critically affected workers have been rushed to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital and the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.