VIJAYAWADA: Confirming the death of eight persons in the LG Polymers gas leak, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang said an inquiry has been ordered into the incident by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
As per preliminary information, the management stored styrene gas in a tank and they maintain balance to see that it does not evaporate. "The antidote to neutralise the effect of a gas leak, if any, is also stored nearby but due to some reasons, it (neutralising of the gas) did not happen immediately. We have to further investigate," the DGP said after a review meeting with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday.
The DGP said the entire RR Venkatapuram village has been evacuated and police broke open doors to shift people, who had locked themselves in their houses. "The situation is now under control and stable. About 800 or more people were evacuated and shifted to hospitals. As of now, only 246 are in hospitals while the others are discharged while 20 of them have been put under ventilation in critical care wards," he said.
Sawang said forensic teams from Vijayawada were also rushed to Visakhapatnam to assist the local teams in ascertaining the cause of the leakage. He appealed to people not to panic as the gas is non-poisonous but excess inhalation might be fatal.
Asked whether precautions were taken for recommencing the unit after nearly 45 days of lockdown, Sawang said this will come out only after investigation. "Right now, we are focusing on control and evacuation and medical treatment. There is no more gas leakage," he said.
He said there were 25 employees maintaining the unit and 15 members were at the plant at the time of the incident. Asked if negligence or accident had resulted in the gas leak, the DGP replied it was an accident and investigation had to be done to know whether there was negligence. He added the gas leak was brought under control by 5.30 am. "They quickly infused neutralisers and now the situation is under control," he said.
The DGP said the police control room received a call at 3.30 am and the Rakshak vehicles reached there within 10 minutes. "After assessing the situation there, police personnel alerted all nearby units and fire services personnel who rushed to the villages. With the public announcement systems, they have appealed to the people to rush out of their houses and evacuate RR Venkatapuram village. 108 ambulances too rushed to the village immediately," he said.
Stating that a majority of people complained of breathlessness, Sawang said water was sprayed in the air in the village, as it is one of the antidotes.