Massive Gas Leak Disaster In Visakhapatnam: 8 Dead, Hundreds Admitted To Hospitals

In addition to the ongoing pandemic in India that’s infecting, taking a lot of lives, people in the country woke up this morning with another horror. The sun rose in India today but people were lying unconscious on the road while others were running for their lives with their loved ones despite not knowing what was actually going on.

The incident took place in RR Venkatapuram village, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It turned out that there was a massive gas leak at LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd’s chemical gas plant, killing at least 7 adults and 1 child. Meanwhile, 200 people have been taken to the hospital and thousands of others have reported uneasiness such as burning sensation in their skin and eyes as well as breathing difficulties.

Reports said that the gas leak started at around 3:00 in the morning so residents were not in the state to react quickly. According to initial reports, the gas had leaked from 2 tanks with 5,000-ton capacity that had gone unattended during the India lockdown.

Assistant commissioner Rani said that the lockdown has resulted in the gas tanks unattended, causing a chemical reaction and producing heat inside the tanks. That’s the reason why the gas leak at LG Polymers plant happened.

The unfortunate accident took place only hours before the plant, owned by battery maker LG chemical Ltd, resumed operations after being closed due to the lockdown.

The leaked gas spread over a 3-kilometer area, scaring people out of their houses. However, many of those were not lucky enough to escape and fell unconscious on the road as they couldn’t breathe. They were brought to the hospital. Meanwhile, people falling sick were taken to King George Hospital along with some private hospitals.

“We received an emergency call from the local villagers around 3.30 am in the morning today. They said there was some gas in the air.”

“We reached there immediately. 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. Prepared rescue workers started working from around 4.00 am.”

In a tweet, GVMC requested people living near the plant to stay inside their houses while ambulances, police, and fire tenders have rushed to the area to aid residents. Officials said that the gas leak at LG Polymers has been contained but they have been searching for victims in cases they’re trapped.

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