Many hospitalized following ammonia gas leak from fertilizer factory in India

NEW DELHI, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Many people, including children, were hospitalized following an ammonia gas leak from a fertilizer manufacturing factory in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, officials said Wednesday.

The gas leak detected Tuesday night in the Ennore area of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, forced hundreds of residents to rush out of their homes in the neighborhood.

Officials said the ammonia gas odor caused discomfort among residents, who experienced unease, nausea, burning sensation in their eyes and dizziness, after which some of them were removed to nearby hospitals. Reports said a pungent odor was noticed in Periyakuppam, Chinnakuppam, Netaji Nagar, and Burma Nagar -- the areas from where the pipeline of the fertilizer factory passes.

"Around 3,000 to 4,000 people were on the roads in the area last night. We reassured them and told them it was ammonia and the leak was contained after which the panic-like situation was diffused," a senior police official Vijayakumar told the media.

On Tuesday night, environment officials were rushed to inspect the fertilizer manufacturing facility, Coromandel International Limited, where bubbles were seen coming out of the underwater supply pipeline.

Though the gas leak was controlled, the ammonia level in the air and the sea rose to alarming levels by early Wednesday.

More than three hours after the leak, a Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) inspection at 3:30 a.m. local time showed the ammonia level in the air to be about five times the amount on a 24-hour average, a local newspaper, the Hindu, reported.

"Ammonia level in the seawater sample at the point of pipeline leakage at 3:49 a.m. local time was found to be 49 mg/liter as against the marine discharge standard of 5 mg/liter," the report said.

TNPCB has set up a committee of pollution and environmental experts to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, reports said people from the affected villages Wednesday staged a protest outside the factory demanding its permanent closure.

In December 1984, methyl isocyanate leaked from a Union Carbide Corporation pesticide plant in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, killing over 3,700 people and affecting another 500,000.