At least two migrant workers were killed after an ammonia gas leak took place at a private seafood export unit at Kannigaipair in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district.
Over 60 others are also said to be in a critical condition after the disaster at St Peter & Paul Seafoods Exports Private Limited, which took place during the unit's weekly holiday.
This sparked panic among the roughly 120 migrant workers staying on the company premises, which includes women from Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand, an Indian Express report said, citing police sources.
While the cause of the ammonia leak is currently unknown, it reportedly originated from the seafood processing unit, from where it spread across the premises.
Those admitted to the hospital complained of breathing difficulties, while a few even began bleeding from the mouth and nose.
As the support staff at the factory were limited, locals helped district administration personnel to rush the affected people to the hospital in ambulances and private vehicles.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) 4th Battalion headquarters in Arakkonam was immediately alerted about the emergency.
They dispatched a rescue team comprising 30 NDRF personnel from Chennai, who reached the location equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), gas detection devices, and specialised Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) rescue equipment to carry out emergency response operations.
According to Thiruvallur District Collector S. Kavitha, a total of 46 people are being treated at the Vels Hospital and Venkateshwara Hospital in Thiruvallur, while the most critical patients have been moved to the Stanley Medical College Hospital and the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai.
The number of critical patients later dropped down to nine.
Most of those affected are women from the northern and eastern states, aged 24-30.
At least 16 are intubated and remain in ventilator support, as per sources in the Thiruvallur district administration.
Though a number of the patients have been diagnosed with low blood pressure, they are hopeful of making a recovery due to their age.
"I have ordered an inspection to be conducted by a team led by the Director of Industrial Safety and Health, the Additional Director of Public Health, and the Member Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. They have been instructed to submit a preliminary inquiry report within 24 hours and a comprehensive inquiry report within 3 days," read a statement from Tamil Nadu CM C. Joseph Vijay.
Condoling the tragic news, he also sanctioned ₹2 lakh for each of those affected from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.
With inputs from Lakshmi Subramanian
