A leak from an ammonia gas cylinder at the Alaska Ice Factory, located in the La Fe section of the capital, caused several families to be evacuated from their homes nearby. Firemen rushed to the scene of the incident, which occurred around 9:30 last night. Seven employees of the factory were working in the compressor room, where the ice-making machinery is located, when one of the cylinders "separated itself from its shut-off valve," according to Frank Troncoso, the factory manager. They were immediately evacuated and the Fire Department was called. The gas escaped "for about 25 minutes" until firemen, clad in protective rubber suits and gas masks, had supervised the transfer of the remaining gas into a new cylinder. They then dissipated the residue with a hose. Ammonia gas is highly toxic, and was immediately detected in nearby houses, whose occupants were evacuated by firemen. Luis Bencosme and Julio Cesar Rosario, to neighbors of the ice factory complained that they live in constant fear of gas leaks and explosions of tanks of ammonia, of which, they said, there have been four. When they have complained to the owners of the Alaska Ice Factory, they were told that if they don’t like living there, they should move, they said. Last night, incensed neighbors chanted "Alaska Ice must go! Alaska Ice must go!"
