30 women workers fall sick after gas leak in Visakhapatnam; CM orders probe

In a shocking development, many women workers fell sick after a gas leak from a company in Atchutapuram near the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. As per the report, nearly 30 workers were admitted to a hospital owing to gas leakage from Porus Laboratories.

 

 

While giving information about the incident, Visakhapatnam SP Gowthami Sali said that at present all workers' health was stable and no casualties were reported.

 

She said, "There's a veterinary drugs company called Porus. Right next to that, there's another apparel company called Brandix, which is on 1000 acres land. Inside that campus, there's another company called Seeds Apparel India. There are 1800 people working a shift. There was a small leak in the scrubber region of Porus company, which led to ammonia gas leakage in the adjacent company, Brandix India Apparel."

 

 

She added, "The staff present inside the Seeds Apparel India's hall complained of vomiting sensation and hence were shifted to the nearby hospitals. All the staff members were evacuated. The incident occurred at 12:30 pm. The people were shifted to two private hospitals in Atchutapuram and NTR hospital in Anakapalle."

 

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy inquired about the gas leak and ordered the authorities to provide good medical services to those who have fallen ill, the CMO said. The CM ordered the local minister to visit the scene. He said the incident should be investigated and action should be taken to prevent a recurrence.

Incidentally, this is not the first incident of gas leakage reported from Andhra Pradesh in recent times. 11 persons died and more than a thousand others were exposed to the gas leak that commenced at about 2.30 am on May 7, 2020. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) tried to subside the effect by blowing water and people were asked to wear masks after wetting them in water. According to the then NDRF Director-General SN Pradhan, the leakage from the factory was minimal.

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