Dozens hospitalized after ammonia leaks from tanker truck in Oklahoma hotel parking lot
Dozens of people were injured after ammonia gas leaked from a tanker truck in a hotel parking lot in Oklahoma, authorities said.
The leak was reported Wednesday night around 10 p.m. local time, in a Holiday Inn Express parking lot in Weatherford, located approximately 70 miles west of Oklahoma City, authorities said.
First responders worked to evacuate victims as a toxic ammonia plume limited immediate access to the area, according to the Weatherford Police Department.
Forty-five people were hospitalized in the incident, including five who were airlifted to Oklahoma City-area hospitals, police said in an update Thursday evening. The majority are in stable condition, though several remain in intensive care, police said.
Dozens more were treated at three "casualty collection points," police said.
Approximately 14 officers were exposed to anhydrous ammonia, with five sustaining chemical burns to their airways, police said. Many first responders were treated at the scene, police said.
No fatalities have been reported, police said Thursday evening.
Video of the incident showed an ammonia plume blanketing the parking lot on Wednesday night.
The driver of the tanker truck involved is believed to have parked in the lot to get a room at the hotel, according to Weatherford Police Chief Angelo Orefice.
The leak is believed to be accidental and is under investigation, police said. A possible mechanical failure on a valve or a faulty seal are being considered as potential causes, according to Orefice.
As of Thursday morning, the truck was no longer leaking any gas or liquid, Weatherford Fire Chief Kory Selman confirmed to ABC News.
The tanker was carrying 25,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a concentrated farming fertilizer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said it was notified of the leak at approximately 1 a.m. Thursday and responded to the area to conduct air, water and soil monitoring.
No ammonia was detected in the local residential area following "continuous community air monitoring," the EPA said. The ammonia level in the local creek was "well within the range for the local ecosystem," while the surrounding soil measured a pH of 10, "a level that will naturally neutralize over a short period," the EPA said in a statement.
"EPA will continue to work closely with state and local responders and the Cheyenne Arapaho Tribe to ensure public health in the community and the environment are protected," the EPA said in the statement.
The tanker is owned by Airgas Specialty Products, according to the EPA.
Airgas said in a statement Thursday that the ammonia release has been "contained" and its crews are on site, "coordinating with authorities on the environmental monitoring and cleanup effort."
The cleanup will probably take several days, Orefice said. The public is asked to avoid the area surrounding the Holiday Inn Express during the remediation work.
"We pretty much got a lot of this stuff diluted right now, and so we're working with the EPA and getting the regulations on actually how to dispose of everything," he said during a press briefing Thursday morning.
As part of that dilution effort, the EPA said first responders sprayed water to "knock down" the vapor, then flushed the parking lot and nearby grass with approximately 2.4 million gallons of water. The water entered a storm drain and nearby creek, so first responders also flushed the drainage ditch that leads to the creek and built a berm "to prevent further migration," the EPA said.
Airgas said it is "committed to continuing to support responding authorities and will continue to do so until the response and remediation are complete."
"Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this accident," the company said in the statement. "We are grateful to the first responders for their swift response."
The incident prompted a large law enforcement and emergency services response. Multiple agencies, including local fire departments, the Oklahoma Fire Department and the Oklahoma National Guard 63rd Civil Support Team, responded to the incident.
Exposure to ammonia at high levels can result in irritation to the eyes, throat, lungs and skin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A shelter-in-place issued for the surrounding area was subsequently lifted by Thursday morning.
ABC News has also reached out to InterContinental Hotels Group, the parent company of Holiday Inn Express, for comment.
