Footage from area surrounding the LG Polymers plant in the city of Visakhapatnam shows people lying crumpled and unconscious on the ground, some next to motorcycles and vehicles that have toppled over.
Most of the people who died were driving a vehicle or standing on their terrace when they lost consciousness and fell, said Mekapati Goutham Reddy, minister for Industries, Commerce, and Information Technology in the state government of Andhra Pradesh. Many others were sleeping, and simply slipped into unconsciousness. Three of those who died are children, added Reddy.
Images show roads and highways leading away from the plant filled with people sprinting to safety, many carrying others in their arms.
“When we arrived on the spot a lot of people were lying on the ground unconscious and we evacuated around 1,000 people and rushed them to the hospital. Of these, around 100 are seriously ill,” said Tej Bharath, a senior Visakhapatnam district official.
Local officials transported hundreds of people in ambulances, police vehicles, and state-provided buses, while others left on their own, said Gopalapatnam Police Inspector V Ramanayya.
At least 285 people are now in hospital, said K Kanna Babu, managing director of the state’s disaster response force.
The gas came out the factory’s chimney and was carried by the wind, said Babu. There are 10,000 people within the affected area of the gas leak; about 5,000 have been evacuated. Rescue operations are now complete and the gas leak is under control, police confirmed.
How it happened
It was not immediately clear what had led to the leak. However, the plant, which is owned by the South Korean company LG Chem, had recently reopened after coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased, with the gas leak occurring during the process of re-starting operations, according to Bharath, the Visakhapatnam district official.
Reddy, the Andhra Pradesh minister, said workers at the plant had been conducting regular maintenance and gauging whether it was ready to return to full production. It was during this process that they found the leak coming from a storage tank, where the chemical had turned into a gas.
They immediately worked to neutralize the chemical, and had shut down the plant within an hour, Reddy said.
In a statement to CNN, LG Chem said it was taking measures to protect residents affected by the leak.
“(We) are currently assessing local town residents’ damage situation and are taking maximum necessary measures for the protection of residents and employees together with related organizations,” said the statement.
“The factory’s gas leak is currently under control. Leaked gas can cause vomiting and dizziness from inhaling. (We) are seeking all measures so that related treatment can be done quickly.”
The gas has been identified as Styrene, a flammable liquid that is used to make a variety of industrial products, including polystyrene, fiberglass, rubber, and latex.
Photos of the aftermath has drawn parallels online with the Bhopal disaster — a gas leak in the central Indian city of Bhopal in December 1984.
Nearly half a million people were exposed to toxic fumes, nearly 4,000 people died in the immediate aftermath, and around 10,000 subsequent deaths have been blamed on the leak, which is now considered one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.
This leak is likely not as lethal as the Bhopal disaster, said Reddy, the state minister.
Government response
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet today that he had spoken with officials regarding Thursday’s leak, and was monitoring the situation.
“I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam,” he tweeted.
The state’s chief minister is also set to visit the city hospital where residents are being treated, his office confirmed in a tweet.
“The Chief Minister is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control,” said the tweet.
The city’s civic authority, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), warned residents to stay indoors during the response effort.
“There is gas leakage identified at LG Polymers in Gopalpatnam. Requesting Citizens around these locations not to come out of houses for the sake of safety precautions,” GVMC tweeted. “As precautionary measures, the colonies and villages around the industry may leave to safer locations. Please use wet cloth as mask to cover nose and mouth.”
Now as efforts turn from evacuation and rescue to investigation, state officials are beginning to look into the cause of the leak.
“Right now we are not taking any action but certainly the burden of proof lies with them (LG) — to come forward and say what they have done,” said Reddy. “We need to understand to what extent was this negligence or what it was. It will all come subsequently once we start ascertaining the situation on the ground.”
CNN’s Swati Gupta and Esha Mitra contributed to this report.
