Panic as gas leak leaves villagers gasping for air
Eyewitnesses say dozens of people fell unconscious on the streets
VISAKHAPATNAM: Around 2:30 am on Thursday morning, styrene vapours leaked from a plant in Visakhapatnam’s RR Venkatapuram village, spreading as a fog on over several villages in a 5-km radius, where people woke up in panic as they began coughing and their skin itching.
The incident at the LG Polymers unit, which produces plastic for industrial use, claimed the lives of at least 11 people with more feared to die as 25 people were in a critical condition, officials said, while adding that close to 1,000 people were affected in all.
According to eyewitnesses and photos from the area, dozens of people fell unconscious on the streets, some splayed out while foam trailed from their mouths, while those conscious gasped for breath. “No one could breathe. I couldn’t see anything for some time,” Vijay Raju, a local resident, said by phone, news agency AP reported. “For a moment, I thought I would die.”
Hundreds of people fled from the affected areas, some on motorbikes and others carried in open trucks. Some who couldn’t find vehicles raced away barefooted, many with small children slung across their shoulders.
At least two people died when they hit their head on the ground as they collapsed from the effects of the toxin while running away, state police chief Gautam Sawang said. Images showed many of the victims who lay on the streets were next to fallen motorcycles.
An ambulance driver fainted while steering the vehicle. He stopped and after a vomiting, got back at the wheels to rush the affected people to hospital, local news media reported. “Initially I thought that it was an LPG cylinder leak. However, when we came out we realised it is a leakage from LG polymers factory near our village,” news agency PTI quoted Vinay, who lost his uncle in the incident, as saying.
Narendra, another resident, said he saw many people slowly losing their strength and falling unconscious when they tried to take them out of their houses, PTI reported. “We were fast asleep and at around 2.30 am I woke up as my skin was itching. I opened my eyes but felt a burning sensation. I sensed some danger and woke up my family members. We all came out and I along with my other neighbours and friends started waking up others.”
A first year medical student, two girls, aged six and nine, were among the 11 people killed due to the leakage Vinay said his brother Kannaji fell unconscious after inhaling the gas and also sustained injuries. “He is now undergoing treatment at the NRI hospital here. Doctors told us that his lungs were filled with gas. He is being shifted to the ICU.”
In the hour of crisis, several people also turned up to help. Local youth who sensed danger started knocking the doors of other residents and brought them out in the wee hours. The toxic gas also killed cattle, poultry birds, dogs and cats that were seen lying motionless after the white vapours had lifted.
Images from social media and local TV channels showed hundreds of chickens in poultry farms in nearby villages were found dead with their bodies turning dark grey due to the effect of gas leakage. Police officers, some wearing gas masks, rushed from house to house and evacuated about 2,000 people.
South Korea expressed shock and grief over the incident. “I am shocked and saddened by the news of the accident that occurred at the LG Polymers Plant in Venkatapuram that caused loss of valuable lives and many falling ill,” South Korean Ambassador Shin Bong-kil said.