‘Toxic fume’ evacuation: Diep River office workers taken to hospital
SCARE: 1 700 employees at Sigma had to be evacuated. Picture: Mandilakhe Tshwete
Hundreds of people had to be evacuated after toxic fumes entered the air conditioning system at a call centre in Diep River.
Some of Sigma Connected South Africa’s 1 700 employees were treated on the scene, while several were taken to hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
In an update on its Facebook page, Life Emergency Services said: “Hazmat Incident – Mass Casualty. Leo Street, Elfindale. 1 700 people evacuated after accidental exposure to toxic fumes. 29 patients were treated on scene, 16 of which were transported to hospital with minor to serious complications.”
A witness, who did not want to be named, says: “It was quite bad, around 1pm on Wednesday afternoon I saw a lot of people walking from the building across to the parking lot. Then a few minutes later, there were ambulances and law-enforcement officers.
“I could see that people were not well, it was such an emotional scene to watch.
“The workers were evacuated because of the fumes, I only saw two people who were taken away by the ambulance to hospital. It became chaotic as the people were struggling to breathe.
“All the day-shift workers were sent home and the night shift arrived when it was quiet.”
On Thursday when the Daily Voice visited the call centre, it was business as usual.
According to Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, several employees complained of not feeling well on Wednesday afternoon and the building was evacuated as a precaution.
Powell says: “Numerous individuals received medical treatment, but have all been discharged. The cause of the incident is under investigation by the company in question, as it is an Occupational Health & Safety matter.”
Powell explained that the source of the fumes was not located: “The fire service indicated that the building was ventilated, and no substances were detected when they conducted readings.”
A Sigma Connected spokesperson said the evacuation was part of their safety procedures. The spokesperson says: “Following an issue with fumes entering our air-conditioning system at the Leo Road office in Diep River, in line with our safety procedures, we evacuated the building immediately to ensure the safety of our staff.
“A small number of staff were treated in hospital as a precaution and we will be conducting a full investigation alongside our landlord and building maintenance partner to understand the cause.”