9 hospitalized in Pasig due to defective airconditioner

MANILA, Philippines — Nine employees of an online school in Pasig City were hospitalized due to suffocation after an airconditioner in their office malfunctioned on Saturday.

The patients, whose names were not immediately available, are workers of 51Talk Philippines, an online school located on the ninth floor of JMT Building in Barangay San Antonio.

They suffered difficulty in breathing, dizziness and vomiting, police said.

Police and firefighters responded to the scene after they were informed by school officials that nine of their co-workers got sick due to a gas leak.

City police chief Col. Moises Villaceran Jr., however, said the incident was not a result of a gas leakage.

“It was an air-conditioning refrigerant leak. They thought it was a gas leak,” he said.

Fire Officer 1 Christopher Girao of the Pasig fire station said they did not detect any gas leak when they inspected the place.

“We used a tester and found no trace of gas leak,” Girao said.

He said the employees have since recovered after getting treatment.