A worker at a Stavis Seafood facility at 7 Channel St. died from ammonia exposure tonight, Boston Fire officials report.
Firefighters responded shortly before 6 p.m. and tried to go into the Stavis Seafood cold-storage facility in the Boston Marine Industrial Park but were driven back by the ammonia, John Walsh, BFD chief of operations said. Firefighters in special hazmat suits were able to enter the building around 6:48 p.m.
A team of firefighters in hazmat suits recovered the worker's body around 7:38 p.m.
Walsh said the cause of the leak remains under investigation. As of 8:20 p.m., it was still flowing, he said. Officials estimated the building had 5,300 pounds of ammonia in tanks.
Workers and visitors in nearby buildings, including the Harpoon Brewery, were asked to shelter in place. The SL2 Silver Line bus stopped running past the scene.
OSHA and Boston Police homicide detectives are investigating the leak, but Police Commissioner William Evans does not suspect foul play.
"This looks to be a tragic accident," he said. Homicide detectives are usually called in for sudden deaths.