Two dead, over 60 hospitalized after ammonia leak at seafood processing unit in Tiruvallur district

Two workers, Jumani Juang and B. Malothi, were killed by an ammonia gas leak at a shrimp processing unit at Periyapalayam in Tiruvallur district on Sunday. Both the women were migrants from Odisha. Over 60 workers were recruited in the four hospitals, of which 23 were admitted to the intensive care unit.

Also Read: Watch Latest Tiruvallur Ammonia Spill Updates on 21 June 2026

Police have arrested the company’s owner and the factory director, who are both facing legal proceedings for previous violations of industrial safety standards. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay set up a three-member committee to investigate the incident.

“A 3-member committee has been constituted with Director of Occupational Safety and Health, Member Secretary, Pollution Control Board and Additional Director of Public Health to submit an interim report within 24 hours and a final report within 3 days,” an official statement said. To prevent recurrence of such accidents, the government has ordered immediate joint inspections of all hazardous industries, the statement added.

Mr. Vijay also ordered that the families of the two dead laborers be paid ₹2 lakh as solatium from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund and ordered that their bodies be taken to their home states for final rites at the expense of the Tamil Nadu government.

Rescue team

Tiruvallur District Police said that M/s Peter & Paul Seafood Exports Pvt Ltd, a private company based in Kannagiper village near Periyapalayam, is engaged in the processing and export of prawns. At the time of the accident, there were 67 people, mostly migrant women, who worked in the factory and lived in the accommodation provided on the premises.

Since shrimp are perishable, they must be frozen immediately after shelling, and ammonia is the most commonly used refrigerant gas in industry. When the unit’s ammonia tank leaked and affected workers on site on Sunday, the Tiruvallur District Collector’s office informed the National Disaster Response Force’s 4th Battalion headquarters in Arakkonam, which immediately dispatched a specialized Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) emergency response team to the site. A team of 30 personnel went to the site equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment, gas detection equipment and CBRN rescue equipment.

The rescue team rushed 46 workers to Vels Hospital in Manjakaranai and 21 workers to Venkateswara Hospital in Red Hills, district administration sources said. From there, the people were taken to the Government Rajiv Gandhi Hospital in a serious condition, while seven others were sent to the Government Stanley Hospital in Chennai.

Police had earlier said seven workers were killed, but the government later clarified that the death toll was actually two.

Officials inspect a private seafood processing unit in Manjangaranai, near Periyapalayam, Tamil Nadu, after a major ammonia gas leak occurred on June 21, 2026. Photo: NDRF

Violation of industrial security

The Periyapalayam police arrested Mohan, the factory owner, and Daniel, the factory manager, under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

Sources from the Ministry of Occupational Safety and Health said the company’s owner and manager were charged with various violations after the inspections. During the inspection, it was found that the company does not have a suitable alarm system, fire hydrant or form 12 register for the state employee insurance system. She also failed to get a revised plan approved when installing new equipment, including an ice chipping machine.

Even after proper notification and a second inspection, these violations were not corrected. A charge sheet was then filed against the company’s owners and manager and proceedings against them are already pending in the Tiruvallur Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court, officials said.

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic incident of leakage of ammonia gas at a shrimp processing plant at Kannigaipair village near Periyapalayam in Thiruvallur district resulting in loss of precious lives and injuries to several workers.
Sincere condolences…

— LOK BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@lokbhavan_tn) June 21, 2026

Monitoring system needed

Environmental expert K. Karthikeyan recalled a similar ammonia leak that occurred a few years ago at a seafood unit in Thoothukudi. Since such factories are often located in remote locations, without access to a good emergency response centre, they must have a local emergency plan approved by the district collector, he said.

As in the case of the Manali Industrial Area, where stacks are monitored by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, all units using hazardous chemicals should also have a monitoring system to alert the police, fire brigade and relevant district authorities in the event of a spill, so that they can take immediate action.

Published – 21 Jun 2026 16:21 IST