GAINESVILLE, Georgia, (AP) – A spill of liquid nitrogen in a poultry farm in northeastern Georgia killed six people on Thursday, with several others taken to the hospital, officials said.
At least three of the injured at Prime Pak Foods’ Gainesville factory were reported in critical condition.
Aviaries rely on refrigeration systems that can include liquid nitrogen. The firefighters, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state fireman were investigating the cause of the leak.
“It was a leak of an unknown cause that occurred in the system here,” said Hall County fire department chief Zach Brackett. “We still have a lot of information that we are trying to collect from the site.”
A crowd of workers were gathered outside the factory when firefighters responded to the spill on Thursday morning.
“As soon as the units arrived, they found a large contingent of employees who had evacuated, along with several victims who were in that crowd who were also experiencing medical emergencies around the facility,” Brackett told reporters at a news conference.
Beth Downs, a spokeswoman for the Northeastern Georgia Health System, said five people died at the factory and one person died in the emergency room.
Nine other wounded patients were in the hospital – three critically ill, health care spokesman Sean Couch said. Five were being treated in the emergency room and in good condition. One was still on his way to the emergency room when Couch spoke.
At least four firefighters were injured and taken to hospital with what Brackett described as “breathing problems”.
Brackett said about 130 workers were taken by bus to a nearby church, where they were examined for injuries. Couch said a person was taken from there to the hospital.
Hall County school officials said the students were kept safe inside a nearby elementary school during the emergency, but the leak was contained and not airborne. The shelter in order was lifted on Thursday afternoon. About 2.5 kilometers of a road that passes in front of the factory and the school has been closed.
Prime Pak Foods merged with the Foundation Food Group, a company that takes raw chicken and processes it into products such as breaded chicken and individual chicken cuts for restaurants and food service operations. The company’s CEO did not immediately return a call for comment.
Gainesville is the center of Georgia’s poultry industry, the largest in the country, with thousands of employees working in processing plants.