UN chief calls for Vizag chemical plant gas leak to be 'fully investigated'

Styrene leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday

antonio_guterres United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres | AFP

On Thursday, the country woke up to the news of a gas leak from a chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam, which killed at least 11 people and resulted in the displacement of about 1,000. The incident needs to be fully investigated by local authorities, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. "We obviously send our condolences to the victims and hope for quick recovery to those who have been impacted. And I think these kinds of incidents need to be fully investigated by the local authorities," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, reported PTI.

Gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday and quickly spread to villages in a five kilometre radius, killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000, many collapsing to the ground as they tried to escape the toxic vapours. Hours after the styrene gas leak around 2.30am from the multinational LG Polymers Plant at RR Venkatapuram village, scores of people could be seen lying unconscious on sidewalks, near ditches and on the road, raising fears of a major industrial disaster, PTI reported.

Among the dead were two children, aged six and nine, a first year medical student and two people who fell into a well while fleeing the vapours from the plant, getting ready to reopen after the lockdown.

The death toll from the accident could go up with at least 20 people on ventilator support. Besides, 246 people with health complications are undergoing treatment at Visakhapatnam's King George Hospital.

-Inputs from PTI