Carbon dioxide leak reported at Lower West Side meatpacking plant

Eleven people were taken to hospitals after a hazardous materials response Monday morning at a meatpacking plant on the city’s Lower West Side.

Paramedics were assessing multiple people at the scene of a hazardous materials situation Monday morning at a meatpacking plant on the city’s Lower West Side.

Crews were called shortly after 11:30 a.m. for reports of elevated levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in the air at the Battaglia Foodservice Distributors facility at 2500 S. Ashland, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt.

Firefighters used fans to ventilate the building, which was secured by about 12:30 p.m., according to the fire department.