**Leaking Tanker Truck Releases Dangerous Ammonia Gas in Weatherford, Oklahoma, Forcing Mass Evacuations**

*Weatherford, Okla. (AP)* — A leaking tanker truck spewed dangerous ammonia gas outside a hotel overnight, filling hallways with fumes and forcing hundreds of residents in this small Oklahoma city to evacuate, authorities said Thursday. Several dozen people were treated at hospitals following the incident.

Officials lifted a shelter-in-place order Thursday morning, hours after firefighters wearing gas masks went door to door in Weatherford, waking residents and instructing them to leave due to the anhydrous ammonia leak.

An oil field worker staying at the hotel where the truck had been parked recounted hearing a “faint pop” Wednesday night, followed by a noticeable smell minutes later. He and a coworker left their room and hurried into a hallway and then an elevator, both filling with a pungent odor.

Once outside, they saw their vehicles beneath a visible cloud of ammonia. Michael Johnson, from Nacogdoches, Texas, said, “The smell itself punched me.” While he took off running, he noticed his roommate was not with him and saw that his coworker had run back toward their trucks. A police officer managed to rescue the man.

“His lips were purple and frozen shut,” Johnson explained. “His eyes were bloodshot red. His skin was all red.” Johnson also came across a person stumbling and gave him a shirt to cover his mouth. At one point, looking at the smoke surrounding them, he feared, “We’re going to die.”

Police reported that 34 people were treated at a local hospital, and 11 patients were transferred to hospitals in the Oklahoma City area. Several victims remained in intensive care late Thursday, though the majority were in stable condition. Additionally, dozens more received treatment at casualty centers.

Five responding officers sustained chemical burns to their airways, officials said. Early Thursday, between 500 and 600 people sought shelter, while others were ordered to remain indoors for several hours. Some nursing homes were evacuated, and schools in the area were closed for the day.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed that a leaking gasket on a tanker truck carrying 25,000 pounds (11,340 kilograms) of ammonia was responsible for the leak. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the incident.

Anhydrous ammonia, commonly used as a farm fertilizer to aid the growth of corn and wheat, is a colorless gas characterized by a suffocating odor. It can be deadly in high concentrations and may cause breathing problems, as well as burns to the skin and eyes.

Similar incidents have occurred recently: just last week, an anhydrous ammonia leak near Yazoo City, Mississippi, forced evacuations, and two years ago, five people died in Illinois when a tanker truck spilled anhydrous ammonia after being forced off a road.

Cleanup efforts in Weatherford, a city of about 12,000 people located roughly 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City, could take several days, the police chief said. “We pretty much got a lot of this stuff diluted right now,” he noted, adding that authorities were working closely with environmental officials.

The EPA reported that subsequent air monitoring did not detect any ammonia in the residential area. Local creek pH levels remained within normal ranges, and soil contamination was expected to “naturally neutralize over a short period.”

According to police, the truck driver had parked behind a Holiday Inn Express for the night. The leak appeared to be caused by a mechanical failure involving a valve or a faulty seal. Authorities confirmed that the tanker truck was no longer leaking and that air quality was continuously monitored.

Various agencies responded to the incident, including hazmat crews and the Oklahoma National Guard.

Trisha Doucet, whose mother cares for her bed-bound 89-year-old grandmother just blocks from the leak site, called police for help. An ambulance was dispatched promptly to ensure the grandmother’s safety. Although reluctant to leave, saying “But this is my house,” Doucet’s grandmother was persuaded to evacuate.

Doucet, a former EMT familiar with the dangers of anhydrous ammonia, reflected, “That’s the hardest part. I know it’s your house, but you really have to go.”

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