By IANS
Havana : More than 50 people have been hospitalised and nearly 5,000 people evacuated after an ammonia gas leakage here, officials have said.
The incident occurred Sunday when about three tonnes of ammonia leaked from a meat processing plant in the Berroa free trade zone on the outskirts of Cuban capital Havana, said Bienvenido Rafoso, the head of the Cuban Fire fighter Corps, Spain’s EFE new agency reported Monday.
“The situation has been brought under control and there is no danger for public now,” he said.
“We received a call around 6 a.m. local time and the entire Civil Defence system was activated immediately,” Rafoso said.
He said that experts were conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the leak of the potentially deadly gas, which formed a toxic cloud and forced authorities to evacuate “between 4,000 and 5,000 people” from the Alamar neighbourhood, one of Havana’s most heavily populated zones.
At least 50 people were hospitalised for skin irritation and respiratory effects, the official said, adding that all of them were out of danger.