Authorities in Tamil Nadu, India, are presuming a gas leak is responsible the hospitalization of as many as 30 workers at a seafood-processing facility in Thoothukudi.
The incident occurred at the Pudur Pandiapuram facility around midnight on Friday, 19 July, with employees complaining of suffocation and burning in their eyes as white-colored smoke filled a dining hall where they were eating a meal, according to The Hindu.
Around 120 workers were in the plant when it caught fire. Four employees remain in intensive care but are in stable condition, according to the Tamil Nadu Department of Public Health. The remainder have been released from the hospital.
The plant’s general manager, Velmurugan, denied reports there had been an ammonia release at the plant.
“There is no leak of ammonia. It is wrong news,” he told the Deccan Herald. "We have suspended the factory operations. All the [employees], including those hailing from nearby areas and those who were staying in the hostel located on the plant premises, were shifted to a different plant as part of precautionary measures.”
All of the hospitalized workers were women, including 16 migrant workers from Odisha state. The plant was cleared of gas by 2 p.m. on Saturday, 20 July.
Two firefighters were also sickened from smoke inhalation, according to the New Indian Express. The newspaper reported the fire was caused by an electrical short, with the smoke originating from a charred polyurethane panel.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, as well as officials from the state’s departments of revenue, police, labor welfare, public health, and fire and rescue services, will be investigating the incident, an unnamed senior public health official said.
India Today reported a worker demonstration occurred outside the plant, with protestors requesting the government take further action to protect the employees in the plant.
