A tanker truck leaked dangerous ammonia gas in an Oklahoma hotel parking lot Wednesday night, prompting dozens of people to be hospitalized, including 11 who were in critical condition.
Anhydrous ammonia leaked from a tanker truck in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Waterford, a small city about 70 miles west of Oklahoma City, around 10 p.m.
Between 500 and 600 people were evacuated to a shelter early Thursday, while other residents living near by were ordered to shelter in place until Thursday morning. Overnight, firefighters donning gas masks went door-to-door in the city of about 12,000 to wake up people and warn them to avoid the fumes.
Thirty-six people were hospitalized, including 11 who were in critical condition, KOCO reported.
The tanker truck, which was carrying 25,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, suffered a spill as a result of a leaking gasket, according to KOCO. It was not immediately clear if all of the oil it was carrying had spilled.
Authorities said the driver of the truck had parked it behind the Holiday Inn Express & Suites to get a room there for the night (Google)Anhydrous ammonia is a colorless gas that is used as a farm fertilizer to grow corn and wheat, but it can be deadly at high concentrations. Touching the chemical, either as a liquid or gas, can cause burns.
Authorities said the driver of the truck had parked it behind the Holiday Inn Express & Suites to get a room there for the night. Most of the victims were in the hotel where the leak happened, Weatherford Police Chief Angelo Orefice said, according to CNN.
The spill prompted nursing home residents to be evacuated and nearby public schools to shutter Thursday. Businesses in the area were urged to stay closed Thursday while Southwestern Oklahoma State University canceled in-person classes.
Cleanup of the spill could take several days, Orefice said.
“We pretty much got a lot of this stuff diluted right now,” Orefice said, adding that authorities were working with environmental issues. Authorities also said that the air quality was being monitored and the tanker truck was no longer leaking.
In the aftermath, police are now urging residents to stay vigilant for any symptoms they may have after ammonia exposure.
“We are asking the public to watch each other,” Orefice said. “If they’re having breathing problems, call 911 or go to the emergency room.”
Police are talking to the truck’s driver and will investigate what caused the leak, Orefice said.
An explosion at a hydrogen and nitrogen product plant in Mississippi last week also caused an anhydrous ammonia leak and forced nearby residents to evacuate their homes. No deaths or injuries were reported.
With reporting by the Associated Press
