Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pulled people out of salmon tank. Police are investigating incident.
CBS Miami reports that three people have been hospitalized on Tuesday after being rescued from a large fish tank at Atlantic Sapphire’s site in Miami, Florida.
“They were in there in one of these tanks used to raise fish for routine maintenance and there was some type of fume released and they were overcome by it,” said Miami-Dade Fire Chief Jason Richard.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said other workers were able to pull them out. They attributed their injuries to fumes inside the tank.
They were taken to a local hospital in serious condition, wrote the publication.
In a statement after publication, Atlantic Sapphire co-founder Johan Andreassen told SalmonBusiness that the incident happened in a grow-out system that was not in use and there was no impact on farming operations.
“The workers involved in the incident have been transported to a local hospital and are receiving medical attention,” said Andreassen.
“The safety of everyone working on site is Atlantic Sapphire’s greatest priority and a thorough investigation is ongoing. Our thoughts are with the people involved and their loved ones, and we’re hoping for a quick recovery. The company does not have any further details at this time,” he added.
The Miami-Dade Police Department is investigating.
Atlantic Sapphire is currently building the world’s largest land-based salmon farm. Short term, the company expects to produce 23,000 tonnes by 2022. The overall aim is to provide half of the US’ salmon, 220,000 tonnes, by 2030.
