Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Monday announced an ex-gratia assistance of Rs 4 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) for the next of kin of each deceased labourer from Odisha as death toll in the ammonia gas leak incident at a private seafood processing unit in Tiruvallur district climbed to five.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said he was profoundly pained by the incident. He extended his deepest condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy and wished a speedy recovery to all the injured Odia workers.
The CMO release further stated that the Odisha government is in constant contact with the Tamil Nadu administration to ensure immediate assistance for the affected workers. “Yesterday, Odisha Chief Secretary Smt. Anu Garg held discussions with her Tamil Nadu counterpart to ensure that the injured Odia labourers receive proper medical treatment and all necessary assistance without delay.”
Furthermore, on the directions of the Chief Minister, a team of three senior officials have reached Tiruvallur. The team is actively coordinating with local authorities to monitor the medical treatment of the injured workers and manage other necessary relief arrangements on the ground, it added.
“A team of officials are already in Tamil Nadu to help Odias who were trapped there and who lost their lives. Arrangements will be made to get the bodies of the deceased back to Odisha for their funerals, and sufficient measures will be taken to compensate the damage already caused to the families,” Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari told the media.
According to update shared by Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Special Secretary, Labour & ESI Department Rajesh Agrawala, who is leading the team, informed that body of one deceased worker was shifted to Chennai last night. The postmortem examination is scheduled to be conducted on Monday. “One of Odisha team member M M Paik will remain in Chennai to coordinate with the Joint Commissioner of Labour and officials of the Government Medical College Hospital regarding the postmortem and other related formalities. Rajesh Agrawala and B B Acharya will proceed to Tiruvallur after reaching Chennai.”
While body of another worker is at Tiruvallur, the injured are under treatment and condition of some of then is stated to be critical. “Around 130 workers have been accommodated in a nearby mandap/community hall. Food and other essential arrangements have been made for them. Contacts have been established with senior Labour Department officials in Chennai and Tiruvallur, and coordination with the local administration is ongoing.”
According to a media bulletin issued by Tamil Nadu’s Health and Family Welfare Department, a total of 74 individuals were reported as affected in the incident, of which two – Jumani Juang (19) and B Malati (20) from Odisha, died on Sunday (June 21). As of 7 am on Monday, three additional fatalities were reported.
The incident took place around 11 am on Sunday when the workers, mostly young women aged 19-20 and hailing from Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam and West Bengal, were off-duty and resting in their hostel rooms about 50 metres from the unit’s ammonia plant. They complained of shortness of breath, dizziness, and vomiting following the gas leak suspected to have occured from a nozzle on a pipeline carrying the gas to the first floor at a shrimp processing unit. An NDRF team from Chennai, comprising 30 personnel equipped with advanced gas detection devices and rescue equipment, carried out the evacuation. Visuals showed them being rushed to hospitals in ambulances.
Media Bulletin : Ammonia Gas Leak Incident. pic.twitter.com/Uzel4E4g7f
— Office of Health Minister Tamil Nadu (@HM_TamilNadu) June 22, 2026
Of the 67 affected workers, 18 were admitted to Venkateshwara Medical College Hospital, 29 to Vels Medical College Hospital, 10 to Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, and 10 to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. Regarding their conditions, 31 patients were on ventilator support, 11 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on oxygen, and one is on non-invasive ventilation. The remaining 24 workers were reportedly in stable condition.
Meanwhile, Periyapalayam police have filed a case under sections 105 (culpable homicide) and 125 (a) (endangering human life or safety) of the BNS, and taken two brothers who own the firm, Mohan and Joseph, into custody for inquiry. A three-member panel has also been formed to probe the gas leak. It has been directed to submit an interim report within 24 hours and the final report within three days.
