(Eagle News) — The number of fatalities due to the ammonia leak in a facility in Navotas has risen to two.
Mayor Toby Tiangco identified the second fatality in the incident in T.P. Marcelo Ice Plant and Cold Storage in Barangay North Bay Boulevard South on Wednesday as Joselito Jazareno.
Vonne Villanueva, chief of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said in a radio interview the body of the 54-year-old electrician employed at the ice plant was found this morning, 20 meters from the “impact site.”
Tiangco earlier identified the first fatality as Gilbert Tiangco, an ice plant worker.
According to Tiangco, as of 5 a.m.. today, 96 people have been brought to the hospital over the incident that prompted the authorities to evacuate some of the residents in the area.
Villanueva said the residents were instructed to return to their homes on Wednesday night.
” Lahat po ng medical expenses ng mga pamilyang apektado ay babalikatin ng kompanya,” Tiangco, who has admitted the plant was owned by his mother’s family, said.
He has ordered the temporary closure of the facility, saying that it will only be reopened “kapag naisagawa na nito ang safety measures alinsunod sa mga rekomendasyon ng Bureau of Fire Protection.”
“Ipapacheck din po natin sa BFP at Sanitation Officers ang iba pang mga ice plant at cold storage sa lungsod kaugnay ng kanilang Occupational Safety Standards and Environmental Compliances,” he said.
He said the local government would also provide some counselling to residents who were traumatized by the incident.
The cause of the ammonia leak was still being investigated.
According to health authorities, exposure to high concentrations of ammonia causes immediate burning of the throat, eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract.
They said it may also lead to lung damage, blindness and death.
