Ottumwa Cargill pork plant shut after ammonia leak; to reopen Friday

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Cargill Inc said its pork processing plant in Ottumwa, Iowa, was closed early on Friday after an ammonia leak, but was expected to be reopened Friday afternoon.

Two workers were hospitalized and an undisclosed number of other employees were evacuated during the overnight shift after an ammonia leak was detected at 2 a.m. CST (0800 GMT), said Michael Martin, a Cargill spokesperson.

The hospitalized workers were in stable condition and did not have life-threatening injuries, he said.

The plant has been cleared to run the second shift on Friday and will run two shifts on Saturday.

The Ottumwa, Iowa plant processes 18,000 to 19,000 head of hogs daily and employs 2,400 workers.

(Reporting by Meredith Davis; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)