An ammonia leak was reported at an ice plant in Navotas City late Wednesday evening, triggering complaints from the residents about a foul smell in their area.
Members of the city's Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) rushed to Magsimpan Ice Plant in Barangay North Bay Boulevard South around 11:28 p.m. after receiving reports from the company’s employees and the residents.
"Two responders wearing protective gears and breathing apparatus penetrated the site to secure that the main valve will be closed and verified other sources of leaks through the pipelines," BFP said, noting that "the team managed to stop the gas leak" eventually at 1:16 a.m. of Thursday.
Ammonia, according to the BFP, was being used at the ice plant as refrigerant.
Some city residents, including Twitter user @dimakabuluhan, called on the local government to hold the company's management "accountable" as the incident "is a serious health hazard."
Meanwhile, a certain Perl Rosales took to Facebook to complain about the incident, which affected the residents of the whole barangay.
“Ano na... Amoy ammonia na buong barangay namin (Our whole barangay already smells of ammonia),” she said in a Facebook post.
“Nanunuyot na lalamunan ko, (anong) pinaggagawa nyo? Sabihan ba naman ako na lumayo na lang... Dito kaya bahay namin, wala pa ring ganap, anong oras na (I’m already losing oxygen, what are you doing? You even told me to stay away, but how? I live here. It’s already late and no actions yet,” she added.