Gas leak at Indian chemical plant kills 11

NEW DELHI: Eleven people were killed and hundreds hospitalised after a pre-dawn gas leak at a chemical plant in eastern India on Thursday left unconscious victims lying in the streets.

There are fears that the death toll from the incident on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, an industrial port city in Andhra Pradesh state, might rise significantly. The gas escaped from tanks at a complex owned by LG Chem that had suspended operations because of the coronavirus lockdown.

Footage on Indian television channels showed people, including women and children, slumped motionless in the streets after locals raised the alarm in the early hours.

“There was utter confusion and panic. People were unable to breathe, they were gasping for air. Those who were trying to escape collapsed on the roads — kids, women and all,” local resident told Indian media.

Local police commissioner RK Meena, said that eleven people had been confirmed dead. According to district hospital coordinator, over 1,000 people had initially been hospitalised but by the afternoon around 600 remained in treatment, with none in a critical condition.

The incident had echoes of one of the worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant in the central Indian city of Bhopal in 1984. Around 3,500 people around the plant operated by Union Carbide, died in the days that followed and thousands more in the following years while people still suffer its after-effects now.

The plant, operated by LG Polymers, a subsidiary of LG Chem, is on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, home to around five million people. LG Chem said in a statement released in South Korea the “gas leak situation is now under control”.

In a later statement, the company’s local branch expressed its “deepest condolences to the deceased and their families”. It said its top priority was to work with authorities to get medical help to the victims, and that it was assisting with an investigation into the incident.

The plant had been left idle because of the coronavirus lockdown, Swaroop Rani, an assistant police commissioner in Visakhapatnam, told local media. She said local villagers raised the alarm about 3:30 am, saying there was gas in the air, and police who rushed to the scene had to quickly retreat for fear of being poisoned.

The dead includes an eight-year-old girl and 5,000 people had fallen sick. Residents complained of breathing problems, rashes and sore eyes. Authorities advised people to wear wet clothes and masks, avoid eating uncovered food and consume bananas and milk to “neutralise the effect of the gas”.

According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the gas was styrene, which is likely carcinogenic and combined with oxygen in the air forms the more lethal styrene dioxide. The leak happened because the gas was not stored at the appropriate temperature, causing pressure to build up and breaking the valve, the CSE said.

The container was also old and not properly maintained and there was no monitoring mechanism installed to specifically detect styrene, it said. The incident “shows us that there are ticking bombs out there as the lockdown ends and industries start resuming activities,” it added.