Chennai: The death toll following an ammonia gas leak at a private seafood processing facility in Tiruvallur has risen to 11, even as a high-level probe committee flagged critical safety lapses, including the failure of the emergency alarm system, and raised concerns over the cramped living conditions of migrant workers at the site.
According to a media bulletin issued by the State Health and Family Welfare Department Thursday, the incident has resulted in 11 fatalities so far.
The deceased victims include nine from Odisha — identified as Shibani Juanga, Phulomani Juanga, Gumani Juanga, Geeta Juanga, Sujani Juanga, Champabati Juanga, Jamini Juanga, Subasi Juanga, and Rita Juanga — and two from Assam, identified as Sita Hasda and Anjila Soren.
Out of a total of 83 people affected by the leak, 67 individuals — comprising 64 females and three males — remain under medical observation. Health officials confirmed that 16 patients are on ventilator support, 21 are receiving nasal oxygen, and 30 are stable. Five individuals have been successfully discharged.
The state government Thursday announced that 67 individuals are still undergoing medical treatment following the June 21 industrial accident at St Peter & Paul Seafoods Exports Private Limited in the Kannigaipair and Manjangaranai area near Periyapalayam.
The workers currently receiving treatment hail from various states, with 32 from Odisha, 16 from Assam, nine from Jharkhand, six from Tamil Nadu, three from Kerala, and one from West Bengal. They are admitted across Vels Hospital, Venkateswara Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Stanley Hospital.
The government stated that the mortal remains of five victims were airlifted to Odisha June 23, and two additional victims were flown back June 24. The remains of the other four victims will be transported once legal formalities are completed.
A high-level committee comprising the director of industrial safety and health, the member-secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), and the additional director of public health has submitted its report to the chief secretary.
The report noted that many workers lacked basic emergency response training and confirmed earlier allegations that the factory’s emergency alarm failed to sound during the leakage, delaying evacuation.
The probe also highlighted unhygienic and cramped conditions in the workers’ dormitory located inside the factory premises, which primarily housed young women.
Prompted by these findings, the TNPCB is planning to tighten future industrial approvals by mandating worker accommodations outside factory premises and creating sterile buffer zones around hazardous installations.
