WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Workers killed in industrial accident

Workers killed in industrial accident

Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A leak of anhydrous ammonia Wednesday afternoon at a Louisville plant killed two maintenance workers at American Cold Storage at 607 Industry Road.

Around 4:30 p.m., Louisville firefighters and EMS crews were called to the plant after an anhydrous ammonia leak. Several employees were exposed to the vapors, and firefighters found two unconscious workers inside the plant. Both were taken to University Hospital where they later died.

Louisville Fire Chief Greg Frederick said that responding to this type of incident is dangerous and firefighters had to take extra precautions as they entered the building. According to Frederick, plant employees who originally discovered the leak described the vapors as too thick to see through.

Officials are not sure how long the victims and other plant employees were exposed to the ammonia. HazMat crews remained on the scene late Wednesday night to ensure there were no additional leaks.

A spokesperson for American Cold Storage, which stores frozen products for different companies, called the leak "a rare accident."

The names of the workers, a man in his 50s and the other in his 30s, and the exact cause of their deaths was not immediately released.