At least seven people remained hospitalized Friday from injuries they suffered from an ammonia leak in a small Oklahoma town as authorities focused on how the potentially deadly gas began spewing out of the tanker truck carrying it.
The leak Wednesday night from a truck outside a hotel in Weatherford forced at least 500 to 600 people to evacuate their homes early Thursday while others were ordered to remain inside theirs for several hours. Firefighters
went door-to-door to tell those who needed to leave.
The truck was carrying 25,000 pounds (11,340 kilograms) of ammonia, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has blamed a leaky gasket for the release of the gas. The company transporting the gas, Philadelphia-area-based supplier Airgas, said the leak had been contained.
“Our primary concern remains with all those impacted by this accident,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We are grateful for the coordinated efforts of first responders and emergency personnel to prioritize the safety and well-being of the community of Weatherford.”
Police said 34 people were treated at a local hospital and 11 patients were taken to Oklahoma City area hospitals. Dozens more received treatment at casualty centers.
Seven patients with injuries from the Weatherford incident remain at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, according to health system spokesperson April Sandefer. Weatherford, with about 12,000 residents, is about 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City.
SSM Health did not release patient conditions, and authorities have not publicly identified those who were hospitalized. However, Weatherford Police Chief Angelo Orefice said two victims, a husband and wife, remained on ventilators Friday.
Orefice said six of his officers, one more than previously reported, also had chemical burns in their throats from exposure to the gas and were off duty, but, “They should be fine in a couple of days, according to the doctor.”
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said that three troopers, who mainly helped people evacuate, had symptoms of respiratory problems but not serious enough to require hospitalization.
Anhydrous ammonia is used as a farm fertilizer to help corn and wheat grow. The colorless gas has a suffocating odor and can be deadly, especially at high concentrations, or cause breathing problems and burns to the skin and eyes.
"Your eyes burn, your nose burns, everything,” said Brittanie Braman, whose home is close enough to the hotel that she can see it from her backyard.
Braman, 25, spent the night in a parking lot with her boyfriend crammed into their 2013 Ford Mustang with their three dogs — a Husky, a Pit bull and a Shar-Pei-mix __ and their cat in a carrier on her lap.
She said she was pulling chicken out of the oven Wednesday night when a firefighter in full gear knocked on the door and told her she needed to evacuate. The smell was overwhelming by the time she and her boyfriend got leashes on their three dogs and loaded their pets into their car.
“I had to put my arm over my mouth because it was just straight ammonia," she said.
Just last week, an anhydrous ammonia leak forced evacuations near Yazoo City, Mississippi, and two years ago, five people died in Illinois when a tanker truck spilled anhydrous ammonia after it was forced off a road by a passing minivan.
