Tamil Nadu: Five workers killed, 67 in hospital after ammonia leak at seafood processing unit

Five workers died and 67 are undergoing treatment after an ammonia gas leak at a private seafood export unit near Periyapalayam in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district on Sunday, the state government said.

The revised toll came after reports on Sunday evening said that seven workers had been killed.

Seventy-four persons were hurt in the incident and two of them have been discharged, according to a bulletin issued by the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department on Monday morning.

Among those 67 undergoing treatment, 31 are on ventilator support, 11 patients in intensive care units and one on non-invasive ventilation, in government and private hospitals in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts, the bulletin added. The 24 others were in stable condition.

The leak was reported at St Peter’s Paul Seafoods Exports Private Limited, where nearly 120 migrant workers were staying on the premises, reported The Indian Express. The factory processes and exports shrimp.

Most of the workers are women from Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand. As Sunday is the weekly holiday at the processing unit, most of the workers were in the residential unit of the factory, the newspaper reported. The leak originated from the processing unit and quickly spread to the rest of the premises.

The police have registered a case and an investigation into the cause of the leak...

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