Five people were taken to hospital on Friday with symptoms of chlorine poisoning following a chemical accident that occurred earlier that morning at the chemical plant in Ramnicu Valcea.

According to Dr. Florin Nicolae, head of the Valcea Emergency Department, four of them were admitted to the facility, one of them to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

'Initially, three patients suffering from chlorine poisoning arrived - a woman and two men. The woman presented more serious clinical symptoms, including shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing and a certain degree of respiratory failure. After being examined in the Emergency Department, she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, while the two men were admitted to the medical ward. Another two patients - a man and a woman - arrived later. One of them is still in the Emergency Department and will most likely be discharged home once stabilised, while the other has been admitted to the medical ward,' the head of the Valcea Emergency Department said.

The alert at the Râmnicu Valcea chemical platform was issued at around 8:00 a.m. after a chlorine leak was detected at a compressor in the membrane electrolysis unit of the Chimcomplex chemical plant.

Several crews from the Valcea County Emergency Inspectorate (ISU), including CBRN teams (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response), as well as police officers, were deployed to protect people in the area. Safety measures were put in place within a four-kilometre radius, including the evacuation of employees from companies operating on the platform and restrictions on access along all roads leading to the plant, as well as on certain nearby road sections.

Three RO-ALERT warnings were also sent to the public. Measurements taken by specialist teams detected elevated chlorine concentrations outside the industrial site, even after the company had announced that the leak had been stopped.

Meanwhile, the authorities set up a mobile command post outside the chemical platform to improve coordination of the emergency crews in the field. A decontamination area was also established for personnel inside the site.

The protective measures were lifted at around noon, after subsequent measurements showed that the air around the plant was not contaminated. However, the situation remains under the monitoring of the Valcea County Emergency Inspectorate.

An investigation is also under way to establish the exact circumstances of the incident and determine what legal measures should be taken. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Ramona Dinca; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)