TUTICORIN: As many as 31 woman workers were hospitalized after inhaling smoke caused by a fire in a private seafood processing unit in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu on Friday night.
According to officials, a private unit for processing and exporting fish is functioning at Pudur Pandiyapuram. Around 500 workers were employed there.
Around 11:30pm on Friday, a fire broke out due to a short circuit. Smoke began to spread inside the plant.
As many as 31 women, including 16 guest workers from Odisha and two from Assam, suffered symptoms of breathing difficulties, eye irritation and fainting after inhaling the smoke. They were immediately rescued and admitted to private hospitals in Tuticorin.
Fire and rescue services department personnel reached the spot and put out the blaze by 2am.
Though it was suspected initially that there was an ammonia gas leak, officials in the private seafood processing unit reiterated that there was only a fire accident due to a short circuit. Puthiyamputhur police were investigating.
Operations at the private seafood processing unit were suspended following the fire accident on the instructions of Tuticorin district collector G Lakshmipathy.
On Saturday evening, Tamil Nadu labour welfare minister CV Ganesan with ministers Anitha Radhakrishnan and Geetha Jeevan visited the hospitalised women.
Speaking to reporters, Ganesan said out of the 31 women workers who were hospitalised, eight had been discharged while 23 were stable under treatment and likely to be discharged soon.
“There is no evidence of an ammonia gas leak. The fire appears to have been caused by a friction between two electrical wires which then led to a short circuit. However, the labour welfare department will be carrying out a thorough probe and submitting a report. Action will be taken based on it as required,” he added.
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