SALEM, Mass. (WHDH) – At least 15 people have been rushed to the hospital after a chemical leak in Salem.
Fire officials responded to a reported chlorine leak around 3:30 p.m. Sunday to an industrial park. There were no reported injuries from that time.
That scene was later cleared and employees went back to work. About an hour after they returned to work, several people complained that they were having trouble breathing along with other symptoms. Firefighters and state resources responded.
At least 15 people were transported to the hospital by ambulance, but officials said others have been driving themselves to the hospital. The total number of people seeking medical care from the incident is unclear at this time.
“There is no chlorine in the building that we could tell. The building has been sampled,” Salem Deputy Fire Chief Alan Dionne said in a press conference just before 11 p.m. Sunday. “That doesn’t mean that something didn’t happen earlier, so the investigation is going to get thoroughly done by the regional hazmat team. They’ve activated a tier two response again. It’s going to be a very thorough and extensive research tonight to try to come up with what happened here.
OSHA, fire officials, and police are on the scene.
This is a developing story; stay with 7News on air and online for the latest.
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