At least eight persons, including two senior citizens and an 8-year-old girl, died and over 5,000 people fell sick after an alleged styrene gas leak from a chemical plant in Vizag on Thursday early morning. As per reports, the leakage happened around 3:00AM (IST) at LG Polymers plant at RR Venkatapuram near Naiduthota area close to Gopalapatnam.

 

The workers were preparing for the reopening of the plant today when gas started leaking in the early hours. It was noticed that one of the storage tanks containing styrene monomer had escaped from one of the chimneys in a gasous form. 

 

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 till 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.

 

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.

 

Industries Minister M Goutham Reddy said that the factory was to reopen today after the lockdown. “We have issued guidelines and protocol to all industries for safe reopening of factories. Our initial information is that workers were checking a gas storage tank when it started leaking. Only a thorough investigation will reveal what exactly happenned,” Reddy said.

 

Officials said that they have not been able to contact anyone at the LG polymers unit.

 

LG Polymers was established in 1961 as Hindustan Polymers for manufacturing polystyrene and its co-polymers in Vizag. It was merged with Mc Dowell & Company Limited of UB Group in 1978.