A 16-year-old boy died while 23 other residents of Navotas City were hospitalized when ammonia leaked out of a cold storage facility that later caught fire last Monday night.
The Bureau of Fire Protection said ammonia leaked out of a faulty valve at the Icy Point Cold Storage and Processing Corporation in Barangay NBBN, Navotas City at around 11:07 p.m.
Shortly after midnight, a fire broke out at the facility that was later put under control by responding firefighters.
Navotas City fire chief Supt. Jude Delos Reyes said BFP personnel rushed to the scene to address the problem and supervise the evacuation of the firm’s employees.
“Our technical guys tried to close the valve but the pressure from the leaking pipe was so strong, ammonia was leaking, that was a problem,” said Delos Reyes.
At around 12:05 a.m. yesterday, an explosion rocked the piping system at the control room that eventually caused the fire, Delos Reyes.
The fire was put under control at around 1:37 a.m. yesterday and the valve was successfully closed five minutes later, ending the ammonia leak. The fire was put out at around 1:57 a.m.
“As to the cause of the ammonia leak, that’s still under investigation,” Delos Reyes said, adding executives of the firm are cooperating in the probe.
Vonne Villanueva, chief of the Navotas City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the 16-year-old boy living near the facility had difficulty breathing after inhaling ammonia.
Villanueva said the unidentified boy, who had comorbidities, was rushed to the MCU Hospital in Caloocan City where he later died.
The affected residents were also hospitalized after they complained of difficulty in breathing — 11 at the Tondo Medical Center and 12 at the Navotas City Hospital.
He said the city will adopt measures to prevent a similar incident in the future.
Villanueva said the company will be closed pending a probe into the incident.
“As of now, our teams are conducting (a) spot inspection to check violations of the company, or the plant. Most probably, we are going to close it while an investigation is ongoing,” said Villanueva.
He said classes were also suspended at schools near the facility to ensure the safety of the students.
According to the Department of Health, ammonia is being used as a refrigerant gas for the purification of water supplies and in the manufacture of plastics, explosives, textiles, pesticides, dyes, and other chemicals.
Exposure to high levels of ammonia in the air, the DOH said, can cause irritation to the skin, eyes, throat, and lungs, and can cause coughing and burns.
“We thank all who worked together to avert what could have been a disaster,” said DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa. — With Gerard Naval
