THOOTHUKUDI: Thirty female workers of a private seafood exporting unit at Pudurpandiapuram in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district and a fire and rescue services officer were admitted to hospitals after they fainted due to a suspected ammonia gas leak at the plant on Friday night. Five of the affected are being treated at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. All the victims are stable and recovering, hospital sources said.According to sources, the employees working in night shift were on a break on Friday night when smoke began billowing out from the cold storage unit some 100 metres away from their workplace. The women were hit by the smoke, which had a pungent smell according to one victim, causing them to suffocate and lose consciousness.An employee at the unit said a fire at the cold storage unit caused by electrical issues triggered the smoke. “Fire in cables sandwiched between the cold storage wall and the PUF (polyurethane foam) panels, a thermal insulator, triggered the blaze that gutted a portion of the unit. A PUF panel was charred, which produced the smoke,” he said.Speaking to this newspaper, a worker hailing from Odisha recalled she had been chatting with her workmates during break when the smoke suddenly engulfed them. Electrical issuesThe employees working in night shift were on a break on Friday night when smoke began billowing out from the cold storage unit some 100 metres away from their work place, due to a fire cause by electrical issues.
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