14 hospitalised after gas leak from air-conditioning unit at 108 ambulance services office in Chennai

Chennai: Fourteen employees at the office of the 108 ambulance services here were rushed to a government hospital on Saturday following a gas leak from a malfunctioning air-conditioning unit.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian visited them at the Government Royapettah Hospital and enquired with doctors about their wellbeing. In a post on 'X,' he shared photographs of him conversing with doctors and employees.

The 108 office here at downtown Teynampet houses a call centre that handles emergency calls from public, seeking services.

Meanwhile, an official of the ambulance services said that employees were in the hospital only for 'observation' purposes. Following the gas leak, staffers who said they experienced uneasiness, marked by symptoms like cough and hoarseness in throat, were immediately sent to the state-run Royapettah hospital.

Asked if services to the public were affected, he said they continued as usual as all phone calls were immediately diverted to another facility at Pudukottai. After sometime, the Chennai centre resumed handling calls, he said.