Toxic gas: Workers in hospital

2010-04-19 20:20

Johannesburg - Fourteen workers were injured at a Boksburg factory when they inhaled toxic gas on Monday afternoon, paramedics said.

ER24 spokesperson Vanessa Jackson said a worker poured chlorine into a drain he was trying to unblock in the freezer section of a meat processing factory.

When it remained blocked after a second attempt, the worker poured pool acid into the drain. The combination caused a "toxic cloud of chlorine gas", said Jackson.

The 14 workers who inhaled the gas found it difficult to breathe afterwards and were treated on the scene before being taken to hospital.

- SAPA