Gas leak leads to Epping evacuation

Over 100 people were evacuated from a Wella factory in Epping Industria following a gas leak on Monday, police and paramedics said.

ER24 paramedics said their control room received a call at around 12.30pm that a major gas leak had occurred in the area, outside Cape Town.

"Moments later when the paramedics arrived at the scene they were shocked at the amount of people still streaming out of the surrounding buildings," said spokesman Andre Visser.

The initial estimate was that 150 people had left the factory.

Paramedics noticed a faint dull smelling gas in the air surrounding the area.

Five of their ambulances were called to help with the situation as emergency services removed people out of the "gas cloud" and relocated them to the nearby Epping fire station.

"Although most of the patients had minor gas inhalation symptoms and were coughing, according to paramedics on the scene a number of patients did lose consciousness and needed specialised medical treatment."

Police spokesman Captain Pierre Jordaan said the leak was at a Wella hair products factory and that the air was pungent.

He was not allowed closer to the scene but said that people were being treated in the ambulances.

"Three people fainted," he said.

The nearby Bofor Circle had been closed to traffic.

Hazmat chemical specialist authorities took charge of the scene.