Cornwall ON – Several workers fell ill at Star Tek in Cornwall Ontario this morning. Fire services have yet to verify the cause and the building has been evacuated and remains so until the all clear is given. Star Tek was in the news recently as 398 Cornwall employees are set to be laid off on July 31, 2011. Those remaining workers were not affected by the evacuation.
If you have any information or photos please email them to us at info@cornwallfreenews.com
We spoke with Rosemary Hanratty; spokesperson for Star Tek, who said that the company will be issuing a statement after the all clear is given.
We will be updating this story as it unfolds.
UPDATE 12:51 PM
All Star Tek employees sent home with paid day off as the source of whatever is causing the illnesses cannot be determined as of yet.
Several employees being taken to local hospital.
UPDATE 1:07 PM
The count is upwards of 30 Star Tek employees taken to hospital. No cause has yet to be discovered. All employees were sent home and spokesperson Rosemary Hanratty told us that she’s hoping that the facility will be open tomorrow.
“The Cornwall facility has been closed by the fire department until 7am EST tomorrow (June 21st) at the earliest as they work to determine what is causing employees to suddenly become ill. Approximately 30 employees have been taken to the hospital with symptoms ranging from dizziness to vomiting.”
UPDATE 3:38 PM
Dr. Paul Roumeliotis confirmed that the EOHU has shut down the facility until it has been proven safe. More to come. As of this time the cause of the mass illness has still not been determined.
It was more then 7 they are bringing bus loads of people to the Hotel Due.
I would get sick working there as well
I am so glad the building has been evacuated; Startek is right to get all out of harm’s way.
Are you sure the fumes weren’t from somewhere else in the neighboourhood? On many nights there has been a strong chemical smell around the building and sometimes for several blocks away.
there are always bad odor’s in that building,they should of evacuated it long time ago,So many of us were always complaining about dizziness,there were times i had to go outside (with a supervisor) because i almosed passed out
Likes “ex-startek’s” comments, too funny.
was Star Tek the only place evacuated? With so many other businesses in close proximity why were they not evacuated?
Sorry to embark on the laugher here but I do not find it funny how people can sit back and laugh about this matter. It is very frightening not know what is wrong with you and other just as ill, from what? How can a whole call center be avcuated and nothing to be found but bodies pilling up in the E.R. It is a very uneasy feeling knowing they will be asking us to back into work tomorrow at 7am yet there is nothing to support my illness. It is late in the evening and I am still feeling ill, dizzy and getting sick. What could do this? Craziness! I over hear somebody say it is kind of funny how everybody gets sick a month before they close doors for good, hmm! Conspiracy theory maybe? So many unknow facts from today.
Oh yes, real conspiracy theory here people. There are two lines of business at StarTek, the ones losing their jobs (my line of business) weren’t the ones who fell ill or reported feeling dizzy. This incident has nothing to do with the closure and I wish people would stop connecting them or the media dropping in comments about the mass layoffs in an article related to something totally different. We know we’re losing our jobs, we don’t have to be reminded of it every other minute. And rest assured anonymous victim, from reading the articles on the various sites, we aren’t allowed to go back until they deem it safe.