Chaos after ammonia spill at food factory
MAIN ROAD IS CLOSED AND FIREFIGHTERS CALLED IN TO DEAL WITH TOXIC LEAK
AN ammonia leak at a food factory caused traffic chaos after a main road was closed in both directions to deal with the spill.
Langley Road South in Salford was shut near the junction with Owen Street after the ‘low level’ incident at the Bidfood plant yesterday.
Drivers were urged to avoid the area as emergency services rushed to the scene.
Firefighters from Salford, Agecroft, Manchester Central, and Moss Side fire stations rushed to the scene, working with police officers to keep everyone safe and reopen the road as quickly as possible.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) confirmed that crews were called to a chemical leak at around 12.25pm.
They said: “People inside the premises were evacuated prior to fire crews’ arrival.
“Firefighters wearing protective suits and breathing apparatus helped a site engineer identify the source of the leak.
“Residents were asked to keep their windows and doors shut but this advice has now been lifted. “GMFRS crews were in attendance for around two-and-a-half hours.” Queues built up along the road as traffic was turned away from the main route.
The road was fully reopened at around 4.30pm, ending the congestion in the area.
Bidfood confirmed the leak, and thanked everyone who helped to control the situation.
Martin Cook, Business Unit director for Bidfood, Manchester, said: “Earlier this afternoon we alerted the police and fire services to a low level ammonia leak at our Manchester depot, which they responded to immediately and quickly contained. “We can confirm that there was no risk to the public or our employees, and our specialist engineers and site excellence operational teams have robust safety processes and systems in place which ensured that our operations were back to normal very quickly. “The safety of our team and the general public is our highest priority and so we’d like to extend our thanks to our local emergency services, as well as our teams for their swift response.”
Residents were asked to keep their windows and doors shut Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson