17 workers of a food processing unit in the Yavat area of Pune district were hospitalised following an ammonia gas leak on Wednesday, police said.
The unit, located at Bhandgaon near Yavat, manufactures ready-to-eat food and requires temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius, which are maintained using ammonia.
"On Wednesday, ammonia leaked in one of the sections of the food processing unit. At the time of the incident, 25 people, mostly women, were working," said Narayan Deshmukh, Senior Police Inspector at Yavat Police Station.
17 of the workers were affected by the gas leak, with one woman among them more than the others as she was closest to the leakage point, Deshmukh said.
"After the leak, the main regulator was switched off, and the affected workers were rushed to a hospital with complaints of breathlessness and uneasiness. 16 of the workers are stable. The woman who was directly exposed to the gas is currently undergoing treatment in the ICU. She is under observation, but her condition is stable and she is out of danger," he added.
A team from the Pune Rural Police visited the factory to assess the circumstances of the leak. The factory's internal safety system quickly brought the leak under control, police said.
