Ammonia leak at Thiruvallur seafood unit kills 2 women, more than 60 hospitalised

Two women workers died in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvallur after a major ammonia gas leak at a private seafood processing unit in Manjangaranai near Periyapalayam on Sunday (June 21).

The incident happened at Kannigaipair village near Periyapalayam. As many as 64 workers were rushed to local medical centres, where two of them reportedly died during treatment. The workers were taken to Vels Hospital and Venkateshwara Hospital, while the most critically ill patients were latest sent to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai.

A senior treating doctor at a private hospital said the affected workers were quite young, mostly women aged between 24 and 25 years. They were among more than 130 migrant workers, including mostly women from Assam, Odisha, and Jharkhand, who stayed on the premises, one report cited police sources as saying.

CM announces ex-gratia, probe panel

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the families of the deceased, ordered special medical treatment for the victims, and constituted a three-member committee to investigate the valve failure and to probe potential safety lapses at the export unit.

The committee, comprising the director of industrial safety and health, Pollution Control Board member-secretary, and additional director of Public Health, will submit a preliminary report in 24 hours and a detailed one in three days. Vijay also directed inspections of hazardous industries across the state to prevent similar accidents.

The CM also directed state IT Minister R Kumar, the cabinet-appointed district in-charge of Tiruvallur, to go to the site alongside monitoring officer KP Karthikeyan to ensure the best possible relief for those affected, working in tandem with the collector and district administration, the government statement said.

Confusion over death toll

Earlier, the police said the death toll was seven, but a CMO release and Health Minister KG Arunraj later put it at two. Speaking to reporters, Arunraj said that ammonia gas leak with an impact of this scale has never happened. “Doctors say we haven’t seen cases with such high levels anywhere in else,” the minister said.

He also said the health condition of some patients show a worsening trend, adding that critical patients have been shifted out of private hospitals to government hospitals. Both patients who have been declared dead were treated in private hospitals, he added. “One person was brought dead to the private hospital, and the other person passed away without responding to treatment there,” he said.

According to the minister, there are 28 patients at Vels Medical College, 18 at Venkateshwara Hospital, 10 at Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital (MMC) and seven at Government Stanley Hospital.

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NDRF alerted at once

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) 4th Battalion headquarters in Arakkonam was immediately alerted about the emergency. The rescue team, comprising 30 NDRF personnel from Chennai, reached the location equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), gas detection devices, and specialised CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) rescue equipment to carry out emergency response operations. Rescue and mitigation efforts are continuing at the site.

Locals claim negligence

DC Kavitha visited the factory site and met the patients at the hospitals to oversee relief measures. A local resident claimed to the media that “the company has been operating very illegally for the past 10 years”. “We have submitted petitions many times, but nobody has taken action... It is purely illegal. We request the government to take immediate action,” the man said.

Another local resident echoed him. “The shrimp processing company where the gas leak occurred today has been repeatedly releasing gas during night hours for a long time. People living in the nearby villages have already been affected by this and have undergone medical treatment. Since 2023, I have been continuously submitting petitions, urging the authorities to ensure that these recurring issues do not escalate into a major problem,” he alleged.

Vice-President expresses grief

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, who hails from Tamil Nadu and has been an MP from the state, condoled the deaths. In a post on X, he said, "Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives in the ammonia gas leak incident at a seafood export unit in Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy and complete recovery of those undergoing treatment. My thoughts are with all those affected during this difficult time."

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arleker also expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. “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 wrote on X.

(With agency inputs)