Emergency services attend chemical incident in Levin, situation now contained

Palmerston North’s Hato Hone St John Major Incident Support Team were called to the incident in Levin. Photo / Facebook

Three people have been hospitalised after a chemical incident at an industrial area in Levin, which saw another 19 treated.

Earlier this evening, Fire and Emergency New Zealand told the Herald that multiple crews attended the incident on Hamaria Rd.

“Crews were called to the incident about 6.30pm and upon arrival it was escalated to a second alarm,” a shift manager said.

Alliance Group runs a meat processing plant on Hamaria Rd.

An Alliance Group spokesperson told the Herald that processing has been suspended due to the chemical incident, which led to a “gas reaction”.

“As a precaution, six Levin Plant employees underwent medical checks. At this stage, it appears none of our people have been harmed,” they said.

“The safety of our people remains our priority and we are working closely with emergency services.”

Police officers set up cordons around the area.

Fire and Emergency told the Herald three trucks from Levin and Ōtaki, plus three specialist crews from Palmerston North, were attending and 22 people went through decontamination processes.

“Crews confirmed there were no more chemical exposures and were now cleaning up the scene.”

In an update, the Levin Volunteer Fire Brigade said the situation had been contained, and crews were now leaving the scene.

Hato Hone St John said 11 vehicles attended the incident – five ambulances, three first response units, two operations managers and the major incident support team.

“One patient in a serious condition and two patients in a moderate condition were transported to Palmerston North Hospital by ambulance.

“A further 19 patients were assessed and treated at the scene in a minor condition but did not require transport.”

Palmerston North’s Hato Hone St John Major Incident Support Team shared images of the event on its Facebook.

“Tonight was a scheduled training night for the MIST team, due to start at 7pm,” the post said.

“A few dedicated team members were already on station and had pre-checked the vehicles when the alert came through at 6.58pm for a real event – a chemical leak at an industrial site in Levin with multiple patients.

“That enabled a record response time of only 4 minutes from the alert being received, to MIST 50 having left the station and enroute, fully crewed.”

Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden told the Herald he has been informed of the situation and understands emergency services are dealing with it.

“There has been no impact on residents,” he said.

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