Three people had to be treated for chemical inhalation this morning after toxic gases were released following a chemical reaction at the Vernon Factory in Mriehel at around 10.15am this morning.

There were conflicting reports as to how the incident took place.

According to the Civil Protection Department, four empty chemical packets with some remaining residue of magnesium sulphate were binned outside the tomato processing plant and self-ignited.

Two employees threw water to put out the fire but this caused a chemical reaction which released phosgene, a colourless and very toxic gas.

Sources said that when the Civil Protection Department personnel arrived on site, they also initially tried to put out the fire with water but immediately realised what was happening.

The two employees and a CPD official were taken to a health centre to receive chemical inhalation treatment.

Factory employees, who had been moved out of their offices are now back in place and the chemical packets have been rendered safe for transport.

They will now be taken to storage before a decision is taken on how they should be disposed of.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier