AROUND 40 patients and staff were evacuated from a North-East hospital after an ammonia leak.
Ten millilitres of ammonia leaked from a fridge in a drugs room on a ward on the sixth floor of Sunderland Royal Hospital.
Firefighters were called at around 4.50am today (Tuesday, October 16) after the ammonia was released.
The ward was evacuated. The drugs room was sealed and the fridge was disconnected by firefighters wearing gas-tight suits and it was placed in an over-sized protective drum.
The drum was then taken out of the hospital to safety.
It was taken to a protective compound and was rinsed down by fire crews.
Firefighters spent around 40 minutes clearing ammonia gas from the ward, caused by the leak, before the patients were led back into the ward.
No-one at the hospital was available for comment when contacted by the Northern Echo today.
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