TOXIC CHEMICAL KILLS 1 IN PASIG: 50 Others Hospitalized

A housewife died while more than 50 others, including the victim’s five young children, were rushed to various hospitals when a barangay in Pasig City, which is still under five-feet of floodwaters, was hit by chemical poisoning Saturday night.

Doctors from the poison control department of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) are examining blood specimens to establish the cause of death of Leonor Ailes, 41, of Urbano Velasco Ave., Barangay Pinagbuhatan in Pasig.

Ailes died at 12 noon yesterday, some 14 hours after she, her five children and neighbors, were separately rushed to the nearby Rizal Medical Center and the city’s satellite clinic.

Ailes’ daughter Ana Marie, 10, was listed in unconscious condition at the RMC. Her four other children, Alvin, 13; Cherry, 12; Segundo Jr., 11, and Rayvin, 6, are now out of danger, doctors said.

Rodrigo Osilo, chairman of Barangay Pinagbuhatan, said the victims were sound asleep when they were suddenly awakened by the foul smell of chemicals at about 10 p.m. Saturday.

According to Osilo, the victims suspected it was only chlorine or muriatic acid. But they complained later of difficulty in breathing, prompting him and other barangay officials to rush them to nearby hospitals for immediate treatment.

Most of the victims were youngsters while the others were between 40-50 years old, said Osilo.

Residents claimed a truck, which they believe contained chemicals, passed their barangay which is still underwater. However, they failed to notice the truck’s markings or jot down its plate number.

But Osilo expressed the possibility that an aluminum blocks manufacturer in the barangay was the source of the deadly chemicals.
The barangay official said he was able to work for the closure of the firm last year but it managed to resume operations recently.

Osilo and Superintendent John Sosito, Pasig City police chief, inspected the firm yesterday and found that it had no business permit.

However, Sosito is still waiting for the result of the doctor’s findings before instituting criminal charges against the owner of the firm.

Sosito admitted encountering difficulty in investigating the case because Barangay Pinagbuhatan is still underwater.

The barangay and five other neighboring ones have been submerged in floodwaters since typhoon Seniang battered the country last Nov. 3. As of presstime, police, city officials and medical teams are closely monitoring the victims’ conditions.