A gas leak in an undersea pipeline in North Chennai left residents suffering from suffocation in the middle of the night. This pipe, which is 500 meters deep under the sea, has ruptured and the liquid ammonia has mixed with the sea and spread into the air. An ammonium gas leak from the Coromandel chemical factory which manufactures fertilizers and uses ammonia as a raw material in the Periya Kuppam area of Ennore, Chennai has caused suffocation. Ammonium gas was leaked in the middle of the night due to a rupture in an undersea pipeline from the Ennore Coromandel chemical plant near Chennai. People around Ennore suffered from suffocation.
Ammonium gas spread into nearby residences. The gas that leaked out from a distance of 2 km in the sea came into the city. Due to this, many people from inside the town got suffocated. Several people were taken to hospital by ambulance due to suffocation. Many people in the Periya Kuppam area of Ennore, Chennai ran away from home due to this. People fled their homes and took shelter on the roads. The police advised people not to panic.
At 12.45 am, the company conveyed the gas leak to officials that the ammonia gas started to leak during the precooling operation. Due to this, the people from the village including Periyakuppam and Chinnakuppam started to feel pungent smell and suffocation. The company swiftly managed to contain the gas leak overnight, and the current situation is now under control, according to the police. When the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board team inspected the area, they monitored the ammonia levels in the air. At 3:30 am near the material gate, the recorded level was 3ppm (2090 micrograms/m3), significantly higher than the 24-hour average of 400 micrograms/m3.
