Taylorsville, Ind.-Calm has been restored in this area after thieves tampered with a farmer’s anhydrous ammonia tank and released an undetermined amount of ammonia early in the morning of March 30. The release caused the evacuation of hundreds of residents from their homes, several of whom were taken to the hospital by ambulance. No serious injuries were reported, but three subdivisions were affected, and a part of U.S. 31 near the scene of the release was closed for four hours. Press reports stated that three nearby schools delayed openings as a precaution, and one motorist driving through the cloud ran into a ditch and had to seek medical attention. About 60 were housed at a Baptist church, while others stayed with family or friends. No further details were available from the Bartholomew County sheriff’s office, which was in charge of the response and the investigation, with assistance from the Indiana State Police. Although calls and emails to the sheriff’s information officer were not returned, apparently the pre-dawn calm weather contributed to the problems by slowing the dissipation of the ammonia cloud. County 911 Director Ed Reuter was quoted as saying that as serious as it appeared at one point, “I don’t think there was anything that was life-threatening in this whole event.” Meanwhile, authorities were searching for two persons involved in the aborted ammonia theft after arresting one suspect, who is being held in the county jail on charges of assisting a criminal and theft. There were indications at the scene that an attempt had been made to siphon ammonia from its tank into a small container, and that the two suspects at large may have been injured fleeing the ammonia cloud.
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