Aditya DidwaniyaThree more women declared dead overnight; critically ill workers fight for life across four hospitals as Tamil Nadu orders statewide industrial safety inspections
A deadly ammonia gas leak at a private seafood export factory in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district has claimed five lives and left 67 workers hospitalised many of them on ventilator support. The tragedy unfolded on Sunday, June 21, at St Peter’s Paul Seafoods Exports Private Limited in Kannigaipair village near Periyapalayam. Two women died by Sunday evening. Three more succumbed overnight, the state Health and Family Welfare Department confirmed on Monday morning.
The factory processes and exports shrimp. Most of the workers living within its premises were migrant women from Assam, Odisha, and Jharkhand.
A Sunday That Turned Deadly
Sunday was the factory’s weekly holiday. Most of the roughly 134 migrant workers including 74 women were resting inside their on-campus accommodation. The ammonia leak originated from the processing or refrigeration unit and quickly spread across the facility. Workers woke up gasping struggling to breathe, with some bleeding from the nose and mouth.
Ammonia is widely used in seafood processing plants as a refrigeration agent. Sangeetha Dharmalingam, professor at Anna University, explained the consequences of exposure. “The brain gets affected immediately due to ammonia inhalation. Oxygen gets depleted in the body and slowly other organs also get affected,” she said.
Emergency response teams, fire and rescue services, district administration, and police rushed to the site. Sixty-seven affected workers were transported to four hospitals across the region.
67 Patients Across Four Hospitals
The affected workers complained of breathlessness, coughing, chest discomfort, and irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract. As of Monday morning, their condition ranged from stable to critical.
Vels Medical College Hospital admitted 29 patients eight on ventilator support, 11 in the ICU on oxygen, and 10 in stable condition. Venkateshwara Medical College Hospital is treating 18 patients eight on ventilators and 10 stable. Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai has 10 patients five on ventilators, one on non-invasive ventilation, and four stable. Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, also in Chennai, is treating the remaining 10 all of whom are currently on ventilators. Two workers have been discharged after receiving initial care.
Nine of the most critically ill workers were shifted from district hospitals to Government Stanley Medical College in Chennai for advanced care.
Government Responds, CM Vijay Orders Inquiry
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay directed the formation of a three-member inquiry committee to investigate the cause of the gas leak. 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 must submit an interim report within 24 hours and a final report within three days.
The Chief Minister announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh for the families of each deceased worker. The state government also ordered safety inspections of hazardous industries across Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar expressed deep anguish over the tragedy. “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. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones in this unfortunate tragedy. I pray for strength and courage for them during this difficult time.”
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi also expressed grief over the incident several of the affected workers are Odisha natives and dispatched state officials to assist the victims.
Migrant Workers in the Line of Fire
Initial investigations suggest a valve failure in the ammonia cooling system may have triggered the leak. The exact cause remains under investigation. What the incident has sharply highlighted beyond the immediate tragedy is the vulnerability of migrant workers who both work and live inside industrial factory premises.
Around 120 workers were on site when the gas spread. Most were women from distant states, sleeping in their dormitories during a holiday. There were no timely warnings. There was no safe distance between their living quarters and the processing unit.
The incident raises uncomfortable questions about safety zoning standards, emergency alarm systems, evacuation protocols, and employer obligations toward workers housed within high-risk industrial facilities. This marks one of the deadliest industrial accidents in Tiruvallur’s recent history and a stark reminder that industrial safety cannot be an afterthought.
Police have registered a case and the investigation is ongoing.
Akshay Didwaniya
The BRICS Times
