Visakhapatnam: Five dead after gas leak at LG Polymers
At least five persons are dead and hundreds sick after poisonous gas leaked from the LG Polymer plant at Gopalapatnam on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. Workers were preparing for the reopening of the plant today when gas started leaking in the early hours.
Hundreds of unconscious people and those with breathing difficulties were brought to the King George Hospital in the city. Children and elderly were most affected. An offiical at KGH said that death toll is likely to go up.
The police and fire and emergency services have started evacuating a 5-km radius area. Vizag Collector V Vinay Chand said: “The situation is being monitored with NDRF and SDRF officials at work. We are doing everything possible.”
Chand said that all the five villages have been evacuated. “The most serious cases have been shifted to King George Hospital. The situation was very serious until 6 am as the poisonous gas leaked till then. Now, it has eased a bit and we are able to go into the affected villages. A large number of animals including pet dogs, livestock, and birds have died. A team of veterinary doctors has reached the villages to assess the situation. In a couple of hours, the situation should improve,” he added.
MoS Home G Kishan Reddy paid condolences to the people who died and said that he was continuously monitoring the situation. “My condolences to the families of 5 people who passed away due to gas leak at a Pvt firm in Vizag, AP early hours today. spoke to the CS& DGP of AP to take stock of the situation. Instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures. I’m continuously monitoring the situation,” he tweeted.
My condolences to the families of 5 people who passed away due to gas leak at a Pvt firm in Vizag, AP early hours today.Spoke to the CS& DGP of AP to take stock of the situation. Instructed NDRF teams to provide necessary relief measures. I'm continuously monitoring the situation
Residents complained that the gas leakage, which reportedly started at around 2:30 am from the plant at RR Venkatapuram near Naiduthota area, caused burning sensation in the eyes, rashes on the bodies, and extreme difficulty in breathing.
“We woke up to the smell of gas. When we went outside, the whole air was filled with gas. It entered our homes and caused breathing problems and burning sensation in the lungs,” said DVSS Ramana, a resident of Naiduthota. “We are being evacuated. We are going to our relative’s place,” added Ramana, who has two children aged 8 and 12.
Emergency services personnel who were evacuating people also fell unconscious because of the gas leak. Many children have been affected. A doctor at KGH said that children below the age of 10 years were the most seriously affected. Officials said that they have not been able to contact anyone at the LG polymers unit.
Although police officials made announcements asking people to come out of their houses and leave the area, many people remained locked up in their homes. “Some people listened to us and came out and we took them to safety but many locked themselves in. we also do not know if some people fell unconscious inside their homes,” an official said.
The LG Polymers was established in 1961 as Hindustan Polymers for manufacturing polystyrene and its co-polymers in Vizag.
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