Chemical leak in Oklahoma forces evacuations and leaves many ill
A chemical spill injured dozens of people, some seriously, and forced hundreds to evacuate from a western Oklahoma city on Wednesday night, according to local officials. Evacuation orders were lifted Thursday morning.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. local time in Weatherford, Oklahoma, where an 8,500-gallon tanker truck began leaking toxic ammonia, Weatherford Police Chief Angelo Orefice told CBS News on Thursday morning. Responding crews stopped the leak, he said, and the airborne chemical had dissipated to a level deemed safe for people to return.
The leaking truck was parked in the lot outside of a Holiday Inn Express hotel, said Weatherford Emergency Manager Mike Karlin at a news conference streamed by CBS affiliate KWTV. When first responders arrived at the scene, they found people in respiratory distress and exiting the hotel, according to the emergency manager.
"As the event unfolded, we had a large plume of anhydrous ammonia gas spread over a pretty large area," Karlin said, estimating that between 500 or 600 people were displaced and staying in makeshift shelters, after being evacuated from the hotel as well as their personal residences. Orefice said the number of evacuees was slightly lower, between 300 and 500, although he acknowledged that the situation at that time remained in flux.
