The Vizag plant. At least 13 people have died and hundreds taken ill after a gas leak in the LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The leak occurred when the plant was being re-opened for the first time since 24 March when India went into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. As the gas spread, residents ran out of their homes in panic. Distressing images of people fainting and dropping unconscious on the streets are being shared on social media. The gas leak from factory LG Polymer poses several questions, even as the Andhra Pradesh department of factories maintains that efforts are on to fully contain the vapours emanating from the 2,000-MT tank of styrene. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, many factors determine if one would be harmed on being exposed to styrene. These include “the dose, the duration, and how you come in contact with it. You must also consider any other chemicals you are exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.”
The majority of the affected in the gas leak disaster in Vizag on Thursday that reminded everyone of the Bhopal tragedy, comprised children. Close to 150 children are undergoing treatment and most of them are responding positively, doctors said.
Even as authorities have managed to neutralise the gas and contain the impact of the leak, the official death toll in Visakhapatnam went up to 8. The dead include an 8-year old girl and 2 senior citizens. Hospital authorities are searching for the parents of a young child who is in the hospital.
Speaking to the media, Andhra Pradesh’s DGP, Gautam Sawang said that of the 246 people currently receiving treatment, 20 are on ventilators. Reports from other hospitals are also indicating that the condition of the hospitalised persons is gradually improving.
He said that water is one of the antidotes for styrene and so water has been sprayed in the air to neutralise the gas. “The entire Venkatapuram village has been cleared and around 700 people have been evacuated from there. Around 800 people were admitted to hospitals but most of them have been discharged. Around 240 people are still in hospitals.”
Sawang said that forensic teams are looking into the incident to ascertain the cause.
Meanwhile the survivors undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Visakhpatnam recounted their near-death encounter after the gas leak started around 2.30 a.m., while most of them were in deep slumber.
One of the women in KG Hospital said: “We could feel a strange smell. It was a very surreal feeling. Am I alive or dead. I could see people and animals lying on the ground. I dont know how I reached the hospital.”
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy held an emergency meeting with his top officials at Amaravati before leaving for Visakhapatnam for personally overseeing the rescue operations.
Tragedy struck Andhra Pradesh early on Thursday as gas leaked from a chemical unit in the city, leaving one minor among the dead, and close to 100 unconscious, with at least five sleeping hamlets affected unaware as most were still in bed.
Initial casualties included a 8-year-old girl. One man is reported to have died when he jumped into a well while another person fell off the balcony of his house as the gas leak at the LG Polymers unit located at RR Venkatapuram near Gopalapatnam spread across the five sleeepy villaged around 2.30 a.m.
In scenes reminiscent of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, the streets and hospitals of Visakhapatnam were filled with people in panic, scared to breathe and unable to fathom the silent tragedy that struck them.
According to Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation officials, the tragedy took place when the chemical unit, closed due to the lockdown, was being restarted on Thursday morning. The gas stored in tanks began leaking and spread in a radius of 3 km. Officials have zeroed in on two gases, styrene and pentine, as the likely causes for the accident.
Early morning sights included people lying unconscious on the streets and dead cattle by the roadside. People, with children strung over their shoulders, ran in panic towards hospitals. Ambulances rushed to the area and transported 70 unconscious people to the King George hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that the incident took place around 2.30 a.m. when people were fast asleep in their homes. All of a sudden people in surrounding areas woke up with a sense of breathlessness, terrible itching, and burning sensation in their eyes. Panic-stricken they rushed out of their homes, only to collapse. Several cattle and livestock also succumbed to the poisonous gas pervading the air.
The impact of the tragedy was reduced to some extent as the plant operatives immediately alerted the authorities following which the district administration swung into action, an official said. The surrounding areas within a radius of 3 km have been cleared of people and arrangements made for feeding around 7,500 people who have been asked to vacate their homes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are keeping abreast of all details. Modi has started a meeting with NDMA officials to monitor the situation.
Officials said that the leak has been sealed and the gas dissipates fast and so the death toll may not increase substantially.
LG Polymers, is among India’s leading manufacturer of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene. The plant located at Visakhapatnam, belongs to the Mumbai-based LG Polymers India, which is part of the South Korean group LG Chemical. Originally set up in 1961, as Hindustan Polymers for manufacturing polystyrene and its co-polymers, the company was merged with McDowell & Co Ltd of UB Group in 1978. It ultimately became part of the South Korean group LG Chemical, in 1997.
The swift response of the official machinery in Visakhapatnam in the aftermath of the gas leakage from a chemical plant on the city outskirts early on Thursday may have helped in saving many lives.
Though the number of villages and the population affected had initially raised fears of many fatalities, the speed at which the police, disaster response force, revenue and other wings of the administration reacted ensured timely medical attention to the victims.
The presence of the police force on the ground due to the lockdown, the availability of medical personnel for the ongoing Covid-19 situation and diverting the buses arranged for transportation of migrant workers for evacuation saved the day for the authorities.
It was at around 3.45 a.m. that Styrene gas leaked from the LG Polymers plant at RR Venkatapuram, apparently due to the failure of the safety system.
The high concentration of gas in the vicinity of the plant soon engulfed five surrounding villages, jolting the residents out of their sleep. With difficulty in breathing, irritation in eyes and nausea, they rushed out of their houses and ran helter-skelter.
Many including children and women collapsed while running and fell unconscious. As the survivors recounted, nobody knew what was happening and everyone wanted to save themselves.
Residential areas in a range of 1.5-2 km were affected by the gas leak. As Styrene is a heavy gas, it did not spread but settled in the area surrounding the plant, affecting a population of 12,000.
Officials said that 22 cows, calves, buffaloes, six stray dogs and a cat also perished in the incident.
It was through a call on dial 100 that the police received the alert about the gas leak. A Rakshak or police patrol vehicle nearby was alerted and it reached the scene within 10 minutes and alerted other Rakshak vehicles and fire services.
Soon, 108 ambulances rushed to Venkatapauram to shift the affected people to the hospital. The mike systems fitted to the police vehicles were used to appeal to the people to come out of their houses and reach safer places.
The Quick Reaction Team of the police, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Andhra Pradesh State Police and other police forces were pressed into service. About 800 people were evacuated.
Police Commissioner R.K. Meena himself shifted the affected people to the hospital in his vehicle. One of his deputies took ill while evacuating people.
The police and other authorities also conducted door-to-door search to ensure that no one was left behind.
After the affected people were brought to King George and other hospitals, the focus shifted to their treatment. The authorities immediately mobilised additional human resources and equipment to provide medical treatment.
Indian Navy also chipped in. It provided five Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold sets to the King George Hospital (KGH). Technical teams from the Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam (NDV) rushed to the KGH to assist in quick installation to provide oxygen to a large number of patients.
The Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold system was designed by the NDV to enable one jumbo size oxygen bottle to supply oxygen to six patients simultaneously during Covid-19 Pandemic. Officials said 25 such sets were provided to the district administration for use in Covid designated hospitals earlier.
Andhra Pradesh’s Industry Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the negligence by LG Polymers led to gas.
The minister said the company management would have to own the responsibility for the tragedy, which affected people in surrounding villages.
“A responsible company like LG should have taken extra precautions,” the minister said. He said the volume of the gas leaked was not much and hence there will be no further harm to human lives.
The minister said their focus was now on providing relief to the affected. “We will study long-term effects of this on the surrounding villages and announce relief measures for the affected,” he said.
The minister earlier tweeted that the ministry was in touch with Visakhapatnam district collectorate and management of LG polymers. He said the situation was being brought under control.
“We have instructed concerned authorities to take required measures on a war footing. Villages evacuation is underway. Request citizens not to panic and cooperate with authorities,” he said.
The minister said a dedicated team will provide all the required assistance. A team from the industries department was on site, manning rescue operations.
The minister announced that a help desk was set up in the office of the general manager of the department of industries in Visakhapatnam. The contact numbers are 7997952301, 8919239341 and 9701197069
Director General of Police Gautam Sawang said the police received the information about the gas leak through dial 100 in the early hours of Thursday. “Quick response teams were deployed soon after the outbreak and people were evacuated to safe places.”
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) and nearby police were deployed to rescue and shift people to safe places. (IANS)