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Hundreds in hospital after leak at Indian chemical factory closed by lockdown Hundreds in hospital after gas leak at Indian chemical factory
(about 1 hour later)
Hundreds hospitalised after gas leak from the LG Polymers plant in Andra Pradesh state while local families were asleep Gas from LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh leaked into nearby homes while families slept
A gas leak at a chemical factory in southern India has killed at least nine people and led to hundreds being taken to hospital, amid fears that the death toll could climb higher. A gas leak at a chemical factory in southern India has killed at least nine people, including two children, and led to hundreds being taken to hospital, with fears the death toll could grow.
Styrene leaked from the Korean-owned LG Polymers plant during the early hours of Thursday morning when families in the surrounding villages were asleep, a local official in Andra Pradesh state said. Styrene from the plastics plant owned by Korea’s LG Corp started leaking into the surrounding residential area from about 3am on Thursday morning, incapacitating some people in their homes and causing others to collapse in the streets in the area on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam city on India’s east coast.
The leak was from two 5,000-tonne tanks that had been unattended due to India’s coronavirus lockdown in place since late March, according to a local police officer. Police said the leak was from two 5,000-tonne tanks that had been unattended since India imposed a coronavirus lockdown in late March, though a spokesman for LG said maintenance staff were present at the facility when the accident occurred.
Footage on Indian television channels showed people, including women and children, lying in the streets of Visakhapatnam, an industrial port city halfway between Kolkata and Chennai on India’s east coast. Footage from the area around the plant showed people, including children, lying in the streets, and dead cows with white substances trailing from their noses. News of the leak triggered a mass exodus and some appeared to have collapsed as they were trying to flee the area on foot or by motor-scooters.
Swarupa Rani, an assistant commissioner of police in Visakhapatnam, said that at least nine people had died and between 300-400 had been hospitalised. Another 1,500 people had been evacuated, mostly from a neighbouring village. One of the victims, a medical student, was overcome with fumes and fell from his balcony, said Dr Surendra Kumar Chellarapu, a neurosurgeon at the local King George’s hospital.
But B K Naik, district hospitals coordinator, said that at least 1,000 people had been sent to different hospitals, and that it was feared many others may be unconscious in their homes. “He woke up gasping for breath and rushed out onto the balcony of his room for air. But he lost his balance and fell two floors down from the balcony. He died later at the hospital of head injuries,” Chellarapu said.
“Another thing is that it is still too early in the morning, and there are people who were sleeping inside their homes (around the gas leak) and are unconscious,” Naik told Agence France-Presse. He said ambulances were lining up at the hospital on Thursday morning with affected people. “Most were suffering from vomiting, eye irritation, skin rashes and breathing problems but most are out of danger,” he said.
“The authorities are checking (in houses) as well. We are working to get people to the hospital. They need oxygenation and fresh air.” The hospital was already struggling with Covid-19 patients and would be severely strained by the leak, he added.
Pictures taken at the King George Hospital in the city showed two or three patients on each bed, many of them children, and many unconscious. A general surgeon at King George’s hospital, Dr N Dwarakanath, said that of about 300 patients there, most were older, more than 40 were children and 15 were on ventilators.
Some of the patients were lying on the beds in the sparse hospital wearing just shorts and without tops or shoes. But B K Naik, the district hospitals coordinator, said at least 1,000 people had been sent to different hospitals, and that it was feared many others may be unconscious in their homes.
“Hundreds of people have inhaled it and either fell unconscious or having breathing issues,” Srijana Gummalla, commissioner of the greater Visakhapatnam municipal corporation said on Twitter. “Another thing is that it is still too early in the morning, and there are people who were sleeping inside their homes [around the gas leak] and are unconscious,” Naik told Agence France-Presse.
The plant is located in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. The city and the surrounding area is home to around five million people. “The authorities are checking [in houses] as well. We are working to get people to the hospital. They need oxygenation and fresh air.”
LG Chem released a statement in South Korea late on Thursday morning indicating gas had stopped leaking from the plant. “The gas leak situation is now under control and we are exploring all ways to provide speedy treatment for those who suffer from inhaling the leaked gas,” the statement said. Visakhapatnam is an industrial port city halfway between Kolkata and Chennai and has about 5 million residents. The wider region has a cluster of chemical factories, about which environmentalists have regularly raised concerns.
The plant had been left idle because of the coronavirus lockdown, according to Rani. “(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 told AFP. LG Corp released a statement in South Korea late on Thursday morning indicating gas had stopped leaking from the plant. “The gas leak situation is now under control and we are exploring all ways to provide speedy treatment for those who suffer from inhaling the leaked gas,” the statement said.
She said local villagers raised the alarm about 3:30am, saying there was gas in the air, and police officers who rushed to the scene had to quickly retreat for fear of being poisoned. It confirmed the plant was not operating because of the lockdown, but said there were maintenance staff at the facility.
“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,” she said.
LG Chem confirmed the plant was not operating because of the lockdown, but said there were maintenance staff at the facility.
“While it’s true that the factory wasn’t operating as it was under lockdown, there were maintenance workers inside,” a company spokesman told AFP in Seoul. “A worker on night shift discovered the leak and reported it.”“While it’s true that the factory wasn’t operating as it was under lockdown, there were maintenance workers inside,” a company spokesman told AFP in Seoul. “A worker on night shift discovered the leak and reported it.”
Swarupa Rani, an assistant commissioner of police in Visakhapatnam, said local residents raised the alarm about 3:30am, saying there was gas in the air, and that police officers who rushed to the scene had to quickly retreat for fear of being poisoned.
“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,” she said.
EAS Sarma, a former Indian finance secretary who lives a few kilometres from the residential area where the plant is located, said residents had been raising concerns for years about its safety.
“The industrial safety culture in this state is very poor and the regulatory bodies are very lax,” he said.
The Visakhapatnam corporation tweeted a request for citizens in the vicinity of the plant to stay indoors. Images posted on Twitter showed emergency services including police officers, firefighters and ambulances in the area.
Areas within an approximately 3km (nearly two-mile) radius of the plant were vulnerable, the municipal corporation said in a tweet. Cross-referencing maps of the affected area, there is at least one coronavirus containment zone in the neighbourhood.Areas within an approximately 3km (nearly two-mile) radius of the plant were vulnerable, the municipal corporation said in a tweet. Cross-referencing maps of the affected area, there is at least one coronavirus containment zone in the neighbourhood.
The Visakhapatnam corporation tweeted a request for citizens in the vicinity of the plant to stay indoors. Images posted on Twitter showed emergency services including police officers, fire tenders and ambulances at the spot. In December 1984, India witnessed one of the worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant in the central city of Bhopal.
India witnessed in December 1984 one of the worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant in the central city of Bhopal. About 3,500 people, mainly in shanties around the plant operated by Union Carbide, died in the days that followed and thousands more lost lives in the following years. People continue to suffer the after-effects.
Around 3,500 people, mainly in shanties around the plant operated by Union Carbide, died in the days that followed and thousands more in the following years. People continue to suffer its after-effects to this day. Government statistics say that at least 100,000 people living near the Union Carbide plant have been victims of chronic illnesses.
Government statistics say that at least 100,000 people living near to the Union Carbide plant have been victims of chronic illnesses.