Festive chicken premises in Olifantsfontein. Twenty-four employees were taken to hospital after a pressure-release valve reportedly failed at Festive Chicken’s Olifantsfontein facility.
Image: Casual Workers Advice Office/Facebook
Twenty-four employees were rushed to hospital after inhaling ammonia fumes during a leak at the Festive Chicken facility in Olifantsfontein on Wednesday afternoon.
The City of Ekurhuleni’s Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) responded to the incident at the premises on 17 Industria Road after receiving a report through its Life-Threatening Call Centre.
DEMS media liaison officer Eric Maloka said firefighters from the Olifantsfontein Fire Station arrived at the scene and found several employees experiencing respiratory distress.
“Upon arrival, firefighters encountered several employees experiencing respiratory distress and immediately requested medical assistance. Paramedics attended to and treated the affected individuals at the scene,” said Maloka.
He said 24 patients were subsequently transported by ER24 and Gauteng Provincial Government emergency medical services to nearby hospitals for further medical attention.
According to preliminary information, routine maintenance work had been taking place at the facility from approximately 6am.
However, at around 16:23, one of the pressure-release valves reportedly experienced a technical failure, resulting in employees inhaling ammonia fumes.
“All personnel were immediately evacuated from the plant as a precautionary measure,” said Maloka.
He said the facility's engineering manager reported that the highest ammonia concentration recorded during testing was 222 parts per million (ppm).
Further testing conducted at approximately 19:45pm indicated that ammonia levels had dropped to zero.
“Following the successful intervention and confirmation that ammonia levels had returned to zero, employees were given the go-ahead to return to work,” Maloka said.