No Second leak reported from Vizag LG Polymers
andhra pradesh police denied reports of a second leak from the lg Polymers plant in visakhapatnam on thursday night, even as several people were evacuated in a 5 km radius of the plant. district fire Officer sandeep Anand told "The rumours were triggered after locals saw some vapours coming out of the factory. However, authorities said that this was not a cause for concern and that the gas was being neutralised. The police are working on evacuating people up to a 5km radius from the plant. Several people have started moving out on their own as well. Residents living up to 1 km radius were already evacuated in the morning. Ambulances are also ready in case of any emergency".
He added that fire officers were also positioned at a distance for safety reasons and 10 fire tenders were also present in the area. While district fire officials initially claimed that there was a second leak from the factory in Gopalapatnam, the police denied the claim. Evacuation of people up to 5 km was taken as a precautionary measure. Andhra’s director General of police gautam Sawang told TNM that there were discussions regarding the boiler’s stability, and scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) were present. The gas leak that first started at around 2.30 am on thursday claimed at least 11 lives, including two children, and around 350 people are in hospitals across the city. Among the dead were two children, aged six and nine, a first-year medical student and two people who died while fleeing the vapours from the plant.
At least 20 people on ventilator support. Besides, 246 people with health complications are undergoing treatment at Visakhapatnam's king George Hospital, police said. The licence of the visakhapatnam chemical plant may get revoked if it is found flouting environmental norms, an environment ministry official told PTI on Thursday.An official said the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is investigating the matter and a report will be submitted soon.