Ammonia leak from tanker truck parked at hotel sends dozens to hospital in small Oklahoma city

A leaking tanker truck spewed dangerous ammonia gas outside an Oklahoma hotel overnight — sending dozens of people to the hospital, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate, and temporarily shuttering schools, according to authorities.

A leaky gasket from a tanker truck carrying 25,000 pounds of ammonia parked behind a Holiday Inn Express in Weatherford on Wednesday night was responsible for the toxic exposure, according to the EPA and local officials.

An oil field worker staying at the hotel where the truck was parked heard a “faint pop,” sparking a troublesome smell.

As he shuffled out of the room with a coworker, the elevator filled with a pungent odor from the anhydrous ammonia — a colorless, possibly deadly gas with a suffocating smell.

Once outside, they noticed their vehicles under a cloud of gas. He took off running, but his roommate started running for the ammonia-bogged trucks.

“His lips were purple and frozen shut,” Johnson said. “His eyes were bloodshot red. His skin was all red.”

A police officer eventually managed to save his coworker, Johnson recalled.

At one point, he looked at the smoke and thought, “We’re going to die,” he said.

In all, 36 people were treated at a local hospital. As of early Thursday, four patients were in critical condition, and roughly 10 patients were brought to hospitals in Oklahoma City.

At least 500 to 600 people were forced to go to a shelter to escape the possibly lethal gas, with others ordered to remain indoors for several hours.

The leak forced nursing homes to evacuate and schools to close. It could take several days for cleanup efforts to be complete in the city of 12,000 people.

The shelter-in-place order was eventually lifted later Thursday morning, after firefighters with gas masks came door to door to warn residents to leave their homes.

The leak appeared to be spurred by a mechanical failure on a valve or a faulty seal, police said.

The EPA said subsequent air monitoring did not detect any ammonia in the local residential area.

The levels of pH in the local creek were within normal, and the levels detected in the soil were expected to “naturally neutralize over a short period,” the agency added.

The air quality will continue to be monitored, and the leak is no longer active, officials said.

Several agencies assisted with responding to the incident, including hazmat crews and the Oklahoma National Guard.

Exposure to ammonia can cause severe irritation, burns, and difficulty breathing. In high concentrations, it can lead to life-threatening conditions.

With Post wires.