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More evacuations near Indian factory after fatal gas leak Homicide charges against Indian factory after fatal gas leak
(about 8 hours later)
HYDERABAD, India — Indian authorities evacuated more people from villages near a South Korean-owned chemical factory where a gas leak killed 12 people and left about 1,000 struggling to breathe. HYDERABAD, India — Indian police on Friday filed charges of culpable homicide, including negligence in handling toxic substances, against a South Korean-owned chemical factory where a gas leak killed 12 people and sickened more than a thousand.
Authorities said the evacuation was precautionary, but it triggered panic among people overnight that another gas leak was occurring. The chemical styrene, used to make plastic and rubber, leaked Thursday from the LG Polymers plant, owned by LG Chem, while workers were preparing to restart the facility after a coronavirus lockdown was eased.
“No, there was not another leakage,’’ National Disaster Response Force spokesman Krishan Kumar said Friday. The cause of the leak in the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state was still unclear, officials said Friday.
Factory owner LG Chem said it asked police to evacuate residents because of concerns that rising temperatures at the plant’s gas tank could possibly cause another leak. The company said it was injecting water into the tank and applying other measures to keep temperatures under control. A state administrator, Vinay Chand, said authorities flew in chemicals from a neighboring state to neutralize the gas completely before allowing people to return to their homes.
A state administrator in the district, Vinay Chand, said authorities flew in chemicals from a neighboring state to neutralize the gas completely before allowing people to return to their homes. Chand said 316 people were still being treated in hospitals and were in stable condition. State police chief Damodar Gautam Sawang said 800 people were released after treatment on Thursday.
Expert teams were checking the factory’s vicinity for any aftereffects of the gas leak. Residents of five villages are waiting for a clear signal to return to their homes, Chand said. Styrene gas, a neurotoxin, can immobilize people within minutes of inhalation and can be fatal at high concentrations.
The initial evacuations on Thursday affected about 3,000 people. The police charges accuse the plant’s operators of endangering the public through negligence. Under Indian law, culpable homicide is classified as killing not amounting to murder. Penalties range from 10 years in jail to life imprisonment.
The death toll rose to 12 on Friday with one person dying in a hospital, P.V. Sudhakar, a doctor, said. India’s top environmental court also asked LG Polymers India to pay a $6.6 million penalty because of “damage to life, public health and environment.” The National Green Tribunal said the factory appeared to have failed to comply with environmental and safety rules.
Chand said 316 people were being treated in hospitals and were in stable condition. State police chief Damodar Gautam Sawang said 800 people were released after treatment on Thursday. The court formed a committee to investigate the accident and identify lapses.
The chemical styrene, used to make plastic and rubber, on Thursday leaked from the LG Polymers plant on the outskirts of the eastern coastal city of Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state while workers were preparing to restart the facility after a coronavirus lockdown was eased. Choi Sang-kyu, a senior spokesman for LG Chem, said LG Polymers India operated the plant “while abiding environmental regulations.”
The leak was suspected to have come from large tanks left unattended over the past six weeks. Videos and photos after Thursday’s leak showed dozens of people lying unconscious in the streets, with white froth trailing from their mouths. People fled on foot, on motorbikes and in open trucks as police officers, some wearing gas masks, rushed to get people out of their homes.
“Our initial information is that workers were checking a gas storage tank when it started leaking,” said Industries Minister M. Goutham Reddy. The scene evoked bitter memories of a gas leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal in 1984 that killed at least 4,000 people and injured another 500,000, many of whom still have health problems, according to the government.
Videos and photos from the area showed dozens of people lying unconscious in the streets, arms open wide with white froth trailing from their mouths. People fled on foot, on motorbikes and in open trucks as police officers, some wearing gas masks, rushed to get people out of their homes. LG Chem Ltd. is South Korea’s largest chemical company and produces a range of industrial products, including petrochemicals, plastics and batteries used in electronic vehicles. It is part of the family-owned LG Corp. conglomerate, which also has an electronics arm that globally sells smartphones, TVs and personal computers.
The scene evoked bitter memories of the Bhopal industrial disaster in 1984 that killed at least 4,000 people and injured another 500,000, many of them with chronic health problems today, according to the government. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Friday its ambassador to India had expressed regret and condolences over the gas leak. A ministry statement said the South Korean government is closely monitoring efforts to handle the aftermath.
The blanket of gas spread about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles), sickening people in at least four villages. The leak was stopped by 8 a.m. Thursday, officials said. LG Chem began operating the plant in Vishakhapatnam in 1997. Its Indian operation is one of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene in the country. The Vishakhapatnam plant has around 300 workers.
A neurotoxin, styrene gas can immobilize a person within minutes of inhalation and be deadly at high concentrations. The coastal city is an industrial hub known for frequent gas leak accidents. In December 2019, a leak from a pharmaceutical company killed two people.
LG Chem Ltd. is South Korea’s largest chemical company and produces a range of industrial products, including petrochemicals, plastic and batteries used in electronic vehicles. It is part of the family-owned LG Corp. conglomerate, which also has an electronics arm that globally sells smartphones, TVs and personal computers. ___ Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi contributed to this report.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Friday its ambassador to India had expressed regrets and condolences over the gas leak. A ministry statement said the South Korean government is closely monitoring efforts to handle the aftermath.
LG Chem began operating the plant in Vishakhapatnam in 1997 and its Indian operation is one of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene in the country. The Vishakhapatnam plant has around 300 workers.
The bowl-shaped coastal city in Andhra Pradesh state is an industrial hub known for frequent gas leak accidents. In December 2019, a leak from a pharmaceutical company killed two people.
“We have not learnt from our past mistakes,” said E.A.S. Sarma, a former senior state official, referring to the 1984 Bhopal gas leak.
Considered the world’s worst industrial accident, the leak of methyl isocyanate at a Union Carbide India pesticide plant prompted successive Indian governments to pledge to improve safety standards. But many similar accidents, although on a smaller scale, continue.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.