Residents in certain Kochi localities have been asked to evacuate their houses after ammonia leaked from a barge in Champakara.
Officials are trying to contain the leak in Vytila area. According to reports the barge had stored 96 tonnes of ammonia.
Though efforts to neutralise the ammonia with water are being carried out, residents have been evacuated and people in nearby areas have been asked to cover their face with a wet cloth.
Everyone in a 2km radius of the barge has been asked to move out and people in a 5km radius have been asked to exercise caution.
The barge carrying ammonia was going to a Fertilisers and Chemical Travancore (FACT) factory in Eloor.
Two people who were feeling uneasy after the leak have been hospitalised.
An official from the Ernakulam collector's office told The News Minute that all efforts were being made to contain the leak.