An ammonia leak at the Darigold plant in Seattle's Rainier Valley shut down surrounding streets and caused an evacuation of the building on Monday, the Seattle Fire Department said.

Authorities closed two blocks in each direction of the plant at 4058 Rainier Ave. South.

Crews told more than 100 employees to leave the plant just after 7:30 a.m. Monday and all employees were accounted for.

Businesses and people who live nearby were also evacuated.  

A nearby Safeway was full of employees and customers who said they could smell the strong odor.

“It was bad.  Before we could even hit the corner by the Safeway, it was like a wall of ammonia hit us in the face, and then we went back in the store and we could smell it coming through the door,” said Michelle Washington, who was evacuated from Safeway.

A hazmat crew was at the scene.

Employees of the plant said there was a cloud of ammonia after a break in a pipe caused the leak.

The leaking pipe was repaired, but crews were still cleaning up a large amount of ammonia that leaked and expected to be on site into the afternoon.

Firefighters used large fans to ventilate the gas from the plant and opened up the plant's rolling doors.

Paramedics evaluated two Seattle Police Officers for mild symptoms but they did not need treatment.