SEOUL TEAM WILL PROBE VIZAG GAS LEAK

NEWDELHI:An eight-member technical team of LG Polymers from Seoul, led by the president of the petrochemicals company, has left for India to investigate the cause of a gas leak its facility in Visakhapatnam, the company said.

Styrene gas had leaked from the LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd’s unit on May 7, killing 11 people, including a child, and resulting in the hospitalisation of hundreds of people and the forced evacuation of thousands of others. A FIR has been registered against the company for the disaster, which was one of the deadliest industrial accidents since the Bhopal tragedy of 1984.

The incident occurred at 3 am in RR Venkatapuram village, Gopalapatnam mandal in Visakhpatnam district and affected the surrounding villages of Narava, BC Colony, Bapuji Nagar,

Kampalapalem, and Krishna Nagar. The company had earlier admitted that the tragedy at Visakhapatnam took place because of leaking vapour from the styrene monomer gas storage tank at facility. Initial reports had suggested that maintenance failures, operating mistakes, and improper storage of the styrene gas may have led to the tragedy.

“The technical team comprising experts from production, environment, and safety areas aims to investigate the cause of the incident and promptly support responsible rehabilitation, which is the main objective of the task force,” LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd said. The team will also “hold meetings with the local state government officials. This team will work closely on ground along with the authorities concerned to resolve the situation and assist with real-time remedial and rehabilitation measures,” the company said.