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2 dead, several hospitalised after suspected ammonia gas leak in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur
An ammonia gas leak was reported on Sunday at the St Peter's Paul Seafoods Exports facility in Kannigaipair near Periyapalayam in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur.
Two women died while at least 64 others are hospitalised due to a suspected ammonia leak at a private shrimp processing factory in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district on Sunday, police said.
The incident occurred at the facility in Kannigaipair village near Periyapalayam after a coolant used to store shrimp leaked, killing two people, said R. Kumar, minister for artificial intelligence, information technology and digital services, who the government appointed to oversee relief operations.
Taking cognisance of the incident, chief minister C Joseph Vijay directed R Kumar and monitoring officer KP Karthikeyan to coordinate with district collector S. Kavitha and her administration to provide the best possible care to those affected, the government said.
"All those admitted in the hospitals hail from North India. Two of them died. Around 64 of them have been hospitalised. Of them, 60 are women and four are men. Among them 23 are in intensive care at various government hospitals in Chennai," R Kumar said.
The CM is being updated about the incident "every 10 minutes," and an investigation is underway to identify the cause, he said.
"Preliminary enquiries reveal that the coolant used to store the shrimps started to leak this morning," he said.
Govt sets up committee to probe incident
The government set up a three-member committee comprising the director of Industrial Safety and Health, the member secretary of the Pollution Control Board, and the additional director of Public Health, directing it to submit an interim report within 24 hours and a final report within three days.
Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Arlekar also condoled the deaths and wished a speedy recovery to those hospitalised.
In a social media post, he said, "I am deeply saddened by the tragic ammonia gas leak accident at a shrimp processing factory in Kannigaipair village near Periyapalayam, Tiruvallur district, which has resulted in the loss of lives and caused injuries to several workers."
"I pray for strength and courage for them during this difficult time. I also pray for the speedy recovery of all those who are undergoing treatment and wish them a speedy recovery," he said.
"We have secured two persons who own the unit. A first Information Report has been filed," Kumar said.
He further said the measures are being taken to provide relief to the victims' families. "Apart from that, we have also said that whatever is due to them under the Industrial Act should be processed and implemented quickly," he said.
This piece will be updated as and when senior officials from the private shrimp processing unit respond to HT's request for comments.
