UPDATE
About thirty-five people evacuated from a Lower Hutt transit depot are still unable to return to the building, as emergency services continue to mop up a toxic chemical spill.
Two 180-litre drums of cyanide solution were damaged inside the Mainfreight depot, possibly by a forklift, about 6am, Lower Hutt Fire Service
senior station officer Stu Cleland told NZPA this morning.
Six crews from Lower Hutt, Johnsonville, Petone and Trentham attended the scene in fully-protective rubber suits and breathing apparatus to contain the spill.
Police and ambulance also attended, and a section of a nearby road was blocked to traffic. No injuries had been reported, Mr Cleland said.
The chemical, whose vapours are toxic, had been fully contained and was being mopped up using granules and lime. The waste would be recovered into bins and handed over to the local authority for disposal.
The clean-up would take up to another three hours, Mr Cleland said.
The road had been partially reopened.
- NZPA
