Apocalyptic Scenes As Hundreds Fall Unconscious, 11 Dead After Gas Leak In Vizag Chemical Plant
People lying on the road, unconscious, others running frantically with their loved ones, even while not knowing exactly what happened.That was the scene RR Venkatapuram village in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam woke up to on Thursday morning.?
A massive gas leak from the chemical gas plant of LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd in the village has killed at least 11 people including a child while over two hundred have been admitted to hospitals and thousands have complained of uneasiness like burning sensation in the eyes and skin and breathing difficulties.?
As per reports, the poisonous gas began leaking from the plant around 3 am, catching residents who were asleep off guard.Initial reports suggest that the gas had leaked out of two 5,000-tonne tanks that had been unattended due to 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," Rani, an assistant commissioner, told AFP.?
The leakage happened just hours before the LG Polymers plant was to resume operations after the lockdown restrictions were relaxed. The plant is owned by South Korean battery maker LG Chemical Ltd.?
As the styrene gas, which also had a foul smell spread around an area of 3 km, panicked locals rushed out.But many who could not breath fell unconscious on the roads.As per reports, at least 50 people were found lying on the roads, unconscious, who were then rushed to the hospitals.
Those who fell sick were rushed to King George Hospital and some other private hospitals."We received an emergency call from the local villagers around 3.30 am in the morning today. They said there was some gas in the air," she said.?
"We reached there immediately. 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. Prepared rescue workers started working from around 4.00 am."?
The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) tweeted requesting citizens in the vicinity of the plant to stay indoors. Police, ambulances, and fire tenders have been rushed to the area to assist in rescue operations.?
According to officials, the gas leak has been contained, but the search operations for victims are continuing as they fear that people could be still trapped inside houses in nearby colonies.
Though it was a much smaller scale, the Vizag mishap was similar to the worst industrial disaster in history the 1984 gas leak in the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, which killed over 3,500 people.
