Panic in Kasimedu after ammonia leak from ice factory near harbour

Around 2 pm, people near the fishing harbour felt a stench emanating from the ice factory run by one Manoharan and alerted the fire control room. Three fire tenders from Tondiarpet, Royapuram and High Court stations rushed to the spot and found out that it was ammonia leak and not LPG as feared. “A valve from the ammonia cylinder was open, leading to the leak. We splashed water on the valve to arrest the stench before closing it. “These are small capacity cylinders and leak from such cylinders will not cause any harm as it would soon be diluted in the atmosphere,” said a fire officer.