Originally published on September 1, 2013
Chemical leak: Fifteen people were killed and at least 26 others were injured when liquid ammonia leaked from a refrigeration unit at a cold storage facility in Shanghai, China on Saturday (August 31), according to local authorities.
According to Reuters, "The leak occurred at 10:50 am local time at Shanghai Weng's Cold Storage Industrial Co. Ltd., located in the Baoshan district of eastern Shanghai, the Shanghai municipal government said on its official Sina Weibo account.
"Six of those injured were in a critical condition, the government said."
A chief firefighter told Xinhua News Agency that as there were no open flames after the leak, rescue teams immediately carried out rescue work and closed down the valves where the chemical leak may have come from.
Xinhua reports, "'It smelled much worse than smoke from a fire. I sprawled on the ground and could not speak. Then my consciousness dwindled,' said Gu Qijue, who was injured in the incident and is receiving treatment at Dachang Hospital in Baoshan District.
"Gu told Xinhua that she was in a dormitory area on the factory's fourth floor when she smelled a strong odor. She was rescued by firefighters and saved after medical treatment."
Another worker at the plant, Li Qiufen, said she was awakened by a harsh smell.
"I could not breathe. I stumbled out of the room and found odor coming from the workshop. There was clamor and chaos," she told Xinhua.
Liquid ammonia is a colorless liquid frequently used in industrial sterilization and refrigeration processes, and may cause suffocation after heavy inhalation.
Reuters reports, "China, the world's second-largest economy, has a poor record on workplace safety. In June, at 120 people died and 77 were injured when a fire engulfed a chicken processing plant in northeastern Jilin province."
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