Published Jun 21, 2026 | 5:10 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 21, 2026 | 5:12 PM
Official sources said 64 employees, 60 women and four men, were inside the facility at the time of the incident. (Representative image)
Synopsis: Two women were killed and dozens of workers were hospitalised after an ammonia gas leak at a private fish feed export factory in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district on Sunday. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has ordered a multi-agency investigation, announced ex gratia relief for the families of the deceased and directed State-wide inspections of hazardous industrial units.
Two women were killed and dozens more were hospitalised after an ammonia gas leak at a private fish feed export factory in Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, on Sunday, 21 June.
The leak occurred at the factory’s production unit in Kannigaiper village, near Periyapalayam in Uthukottai taluk.
Official sources said 64 employees, 60 women and four men, were inside the facility at the time of the incident and were exposed to the gas.
A case has been registered under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death not amounting to culpable homicide.
Two persons — Mohan and Joseph, owners of the facility, have been arrested.
The affected workers were shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment. Of them, 15 are under intensive monitoring at a government hospital, while 23 have been admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital. Another 24 workers are under observation at a separate private hospital.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay expressed shock and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families.
He announced an ex gratia payment of ₹2 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund to the families of the deceased. The government will also bear the cost of transporting the bodies to the victims’ native State for their last rites.
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The Chief Minister ordered an investigation to be carried out jointly by the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, the Public Health Department and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to ascertain the circumstances that led to the accident.
The agencies have been directed to submit a preliminary report within 24 hours, followed by a detailed report within three days.
A three-member committee comprising the Director of Industrial Safety and Health, Member Secretary of the Pollution Control Board and Additional Director of Public Health has been formed to submit an interim report within 24 hours and a final report within three days.
Vijay also instructed officials to ensure specialised treatment for the injured workers and initiate compensation proceedings under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme and the Workmen Compensation Act.
In the wake of the incident, he ordered immediate inspections of hazardous industrial units across Tamil Nadu to identify potential safety lapses and prevent similar accidents from recurring.
Senior ministers, district officials and other administrative authorities have been asked to visit the site and monitor rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Subhash Chandra Bose)
