More than 20 people were affected after an ammonia gas leak was reported on Sunday at St Peter’s Paul Seafoods Exports facility at Kannigaipair near Periyapalayam in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay ordered the formation of a three-member committee to investigate the incident. The panel, comprising the Director of Industrial Safety and Health, the Member Secretary of the Pollution Control Board and the Additional Director of Public Health, has been asked to submit an interim report within 24 hours and a final report within three days.
According to preliminary reports, seven people affected by the leak were admitted to the ICU at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai for specialised treatment. Health officials are monitoring their condition.
The Chief Minister also directed the state’s IT Minister, who is the Tiruvallur Monitoring Minister, and Monitoring Officer KP Karthikeyan, IAS, to rush to the district and coordinate with the District Collector and local administration to ensure proper medical care and assistance.
Following an alert from the Tiruvallur District Collector’s office, the National Disaster Response Force’s 4th Battalion headquarters in Arakkonam deployed a specialised Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear response team to the site.
The 30-member NDRF team from Chennai reached the facility with personal protective equipment, gas detection devices and specialised rescue gear. Officials said the team was evacuating affected people, isolating the hazardous zone, assessing the impact of the leak and coordinating with the district administration to prevent further risk.
Rescue and mitigation efforts are continuing.
The incident came a day after one person was killed and 26 others were injured in an explosion at Balaji Fire Works, a firecracker manufacturing unit at Ayan Rajapatti near Ettayapuram in Thoothukudi district. Police identified the deceased as Mariammal, a resident of Nathathupatti. Three of the injured are said to be critical. The blast caused extensive damage to the factory premises.