Gas leak at factory kills 11
Hundreds fall ill or unconscious, as workplaces and nearby villages are evacuated
AT LEAST 11 people were killed in India in a gas leak at a South Koreanowned factory making polystyrene products.
The leak made hundreds of people sick and led to the evacuation of villagers living nearby, officials said.
The accident occurred about 14km inland from the east coast city of Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh state, at a plant operated by LG Polymers, a unit of South Korea’s biggest petrochemical-maker, LG Chem.
Srijana Gummalla, commissioner of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, said gas from styrene, a principal raw material at the plant, leaked early in the morning, when families in the surrounding villages were asleep.
Yashwanth Saikumar Ambati, 23, who lives about 300m away from the plant, said he woke up around 4.30am because of a strong smell.
“I went back to sleep and I woke up around 6 because the smell got stronger. My eyes were itchy, and I was feeling drowsy, light-headed and slightly breathless,” he said.
His neighbours also complained of eye irritation and stomach ache.
In a statement issued from Seoul, LG Chem said the gas emitted can cause nausea and dizziness when inhaled, adding that it was seeking to ensure casualties received treatment quickly.
News video shot later yesterday showed emergency workers in the area rushing to help victims, some of whom appeared to be listless and disoriented.
A number of victims lay unconscious on the side of the street, as volunteers fanned them and others carried them to ambulances.
A spokesperson for LG Chem in Seoul said the leak was discovered by a night shift maintenance worker and has been brought under control. According to both the company spokesperson and Gummalla, the plant was being reopened after India relaxed a nationwide lockdown that had been imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
The incident brought back bad memories of a gas leak at a factory of US chemical firm Union Carbide that killed thousands in the central Indian city of Bhopal in 1984.
“I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
S N Pradhan, director-general of the National Disaster Response Force, said at least 11 people had died after around 1 00 people living near the plant were exposed to the gas.
BV Rani, a revenue official in the district, said she received a call at around 4am from a police officer. “He asked me to come to the spot immediately,” Rani said.
When Rani went there, she saw that people had collapsed unconscious in the village adjoining the plant.
At least one child was among the dead, a policeman said.
Up to as many as 400 people were taken to hospital, Swarupa Rani, an assistant commissioner of police in Visakhapatnam, said. Another 1 500 people had been evacuated. Areas within a 3km radius of the plant were evacuated, he said, with emergency services going from doorto-door to find anyone left behind.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, said in a televised address that the gas leak occurred because raw material had been stored for a long period of time.
The state government will give 10 million rupees (R2.4m) in compensation to the families of those who died.
The plant makes polystyrene products used in manufacturing electric fan blades, cups and cutlery, and containers for cosmetic products such as make-up.