Twenty-four employees were transported to hospital after inhaling ammonia fumes at a chicken processing facility in Olifantsfontein on Wednesday, November 11.
The City of Ekurhuleni’s Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) responded to an ammonia leak at Festive Chicken, situated at 17 Industria Road, on Wednesday afternoon.
According to DEMS media liaison officer Eric Maloka, the incident was reported to the City’s Life-Threatening Call Centre, prompting firefighters from the Olifantsfontein Fire Station to respond.
On arrival, firefighters found several employees experiencing respiratory distress and immediately requested medical assistance.
Paramedics attended to and treated the affected employees at the scene.
“A total of 24 patients were subsequently transported by ER24 and Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) emergency medical services to nearby hospitals for further medical attention,” said Maloka.
Preliminary information indicates that routine maintenance work had been taking place at the facility from approximately 06:00.
At around 16:23, one of the pressure-release valves reportedly malfunctioned, resulting in employees inhaling ammonia fumes.
All personnel were immediately evacuated from the plant as a precautionary measure.
According to the facility’s engineering manager, the highest ammonia concentration recorded during testing was 222 parts per million (ppm).
Further testing conducted at approximately 19:45 showed that ammonia levels had dropped to zero.
Following the emergency response and confirmation that ammonia levels had returned to zero, employees were given permission to return to work.
For life-threatening emergencies and fires, contact the City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services on 011 458 0911.