ANAKAPALLE: At least 178 employees of Seed Intimate Apparel unit fell sick after a gas, suspected to be Ammonia, reportedly leaked at Brandix Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Atchyutapuram, Anakapalle district on Friday. Officials from the pollution control board and District Collector P Ravi Subhash rushed to the scene to find the source of the gas leak.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered an inquiry into the incident and directed officials to ensure such incidents do not recur. At a meeting with officials concerned, he enquired about the gas leak and directed them to provide proper treatment to those who fell ill.
The officials informed Jagan that all those hospitalised are out of danger, and reported that the situation is under control. They added that all the women working at the unit have been evacuated. Around 12 noon, a number of women employees from the apparel unit rushed out complaining of nausea and breathlessness. Some of them started vomiting; some others fainted.
The management alerted the health and district authorities and provided first aid to them at the health clinics located on the SEZ premises. As many as twenty ambulances were pressed into service to shift those who were exposed to the gas to Anakapalle Area Hospital and other hospitals for treatment.
Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath visited the SEZ and said, most people are undergoing treatment at NTR Hospital in Anakapalle, while a few are admitted to private hospitals in Atchyutapuram.
Eight people, whose condition is reportedly serious, have been shifted to the KGH in Visakhapatnam. Asserting that the situation is under control, the minister said, "Several people were discharged in the evening and some are being closely monitored."
District Collector Ravi Subhash said approximately 1,800 people - who were in the SEZ at the time of the incident - have been evacuated.
Stating that the source of the gas leak is yet to be identified, he reported that officials of the pollution control board, factories and revenue department along with police personnel have formed teams to ascertain the same. "It is still not known whether the gas that leaked was Ammonia or not," he added.
Meanwhile, the scenes at the hospital were chaotic, as families and relatives of the employees were not allowed to enter the wards. "I don’t know what is happening, my daughter is inside," a middle-aged woman told the reporters, while trying to go inside the ward.
When contacted, the pollution control board officials told The New Indian Express that the possibility of the gas being Ammonia is less and that it could most probably be some solvent.
Stating that they will inspect the meters fixed at the industrial units to determine the quantity of emissions at the time of the incident, they said a report would be shortly submitted to the district authorities.