Four people taken to hospital after chemical incident onboard ship at Lyttelton Port

Four people have been taken to hospital after a chemical incident onboard a ship at Lyttelton Port.

Police confirmed two people were found unconscious in a tank after emergency services were called at 9.40am.

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said they were notified of a chemical incident on Godley Quay, Lyttelton, at 09:42am.

Four ambulances, two rapid response units, and two operations managers responded.

Four patients, three in serious condition and one in a moderate condition, were taken by ambulance to Christchurch Hospital.

A Lyttleton Port Company (LPC) spokesperson said there was an incident onboard a vessel in the dry dock this morning, and no LPC staff were involved.

Fire and Emergency staff confirmed at least two people were rescued and were being treated by medics. Photo / George Heard

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said they received a report of two people trapped in a tank at 9.41am.

Fire and Emergency crews have recovered multiple people trapped inside a tank. Photo / George Heard

Two crews from Lyttleton and one from Christchurch responded and rescued two people from the tank.

Crews stayed to help ambulance staff treat the patients.

The ship is understood to be the Australian-flagged fishing vessel Antarctic Discovery.

Marine tracking website Vessel Finder lists the ship as having been docked in Lyttleton since February 7.

In a statement, Maritime NZ said it was aware of the incident.

“We have staff onsite at the scene, and they are working to understand what has occurred.”

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