Vizag Gas Leak : At least 13 dead after Visakhapatnam incident, Over 200 hospitalised

VIZAG GAS LEAK : At least 13 dead after Visakhapatnam incident, Over 200 hospitalised

at RR Venkatapuram near Naiduthota area

Leakage from the LG Polymers plant in the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state came as people slept. Doctors say patients have been complaining of a burning sensation in the eyes and difficulties breathing.Areas around the plant have been evacuated. 

The leak may have been due to negligence, officials say. Reports suggest initial attempts to control the gas leak were unsuccessful but the company and state officials say the situation is now under control.LG said in a statement it was investigating the cause of the incident, and was looking at ways "to provide speedy treatment" for those affected.Rajendra Reddy, a senior official in the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board, told the BBC that the leaked gas was styrene, which is usually refrigerated.Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an emergency disaster meeting.

At least 11 people, including a child, died on Thursday morning after toxic gas and leaked from a chemical plant of a company in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam city, The gas leak occurred at the LG Polymers Plant at RR Venkatapuram near Naiduthota area between 2.30 am and 3 am and reportedly spread over a radius of about 3 km, affecting at least five villages. 

Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Gautam sawang said the gas has been “neutralised”,One reported. “One of the antidotes is drinking a lot of water,” he advised the public. “Around 800 were shifted to hospital, many have been discharged. Investigation will be carried out to see how this happened.”

Swaroop Rani, a senior police official in Visakhapatnam, told AFP that the plant had been left idle because of the lockdown."[The gas] was left there because of the lockdown. It led to a chemical reaction and heat was produced inside the tanks, and the gas leaked because of that."Local villagers complained around 03:30 and police immediately went to the scene, but had to quickly retreat for fear of being poisoned, the news agency quoted her as saying."One could feel the gas in the air and it was not possible for any of us to stay there for more than a few minutes," she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he spoke to the officials of Ministry of Home Affairs and National Disaster Management Authority regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam and he was closely monitoring it. “I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam,” he added. The prime minister also convened a meeting with the NDMA on the situation.Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission of India issued a notice to the Andhra Pradesh government and the Centre following the leakage of poisonous gas.

The incident triggered panic and several people were found unconscious on the streets as some faced breathing problems. Some people also complained of rashes on their body and burning sensation in their eyes.

There is gas leakage identified at LG Polymers in Gopalpatnam. Requesting Citizens around these locations not to come out of houses for the sake of safety precautions,” the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation tweeted.The state’s tourism minister M Srinivasa Rao and Deputy Superintendent of Police Udaya Bhaskar have visited the neighbourhoods affected by the leak.

Hindustan Polymers was set up in 1961 and later taken over by South Korea’s LG Chem. In 1997, it was renamed as LG Polymers India. The chemical plant produces polystyrene and expandable polystyrene – a plastic used to make a wide range of items like toys and appliances.

India has a tragic history of gas leaks.In 1984, A toxic chemical leak in a pesticide plant in the central city of Bhopal killed thousands of people, in what is acknowledged to be the world's worst industrial disaster. More than 35 years later, victims say children are still being born with disabilities because of the effects of the methyl isocyanate gas spill.