The Chief Minister, who air-dashed to the city from Amaravati, also declared compensation for those admitted in hospitals after inhaling the toxic gas leaked from LG Polymers plant at RR Venkatapuram in the early hours of the day.

 

He told reporters that those on ventilators will be paid Rs 10 lakh each while others undergoing treatment in hospitals for two-three days will be given Rs 1 lakh. People who were mildly affected will get Rs 25,000 each while the other residents of the affected villages will be paid Rs 10,000 each.

 

Jagan Mohan Reddy made the announcement after calling on the affected people undergoing treatment at King George Hospital (KGH).

 

He said 340 people affected by the gas leak were shifted to hospitals. He put the death toll at nine.

 

The Chief Minister said a committee will be constituted to probe into the incident and action would be taken based on its report, adding why there was no alarm after the gas leakage would be known after thorough investigations.

 

Terming it unfortunate that this disaster happened at the plant of a reputed company like LG, he also said that if necessary, the plant will be shifted to some other location.

 

The chief minister appreciated the district administration for its quick response to launch rescue and relief operations.

 

Earlier, the officials briefed the Chief Minister that the gas leak occurred round 3.45 a.m. apparently due to failure of safety system.

 

Stating the emissions are still continuing, an official informed that TMC, an antidote to cut chain reaction, would be reaching Visakhapatnam by a cargo flight. He was told that it may take 12 to 24 hours to bring the emission to zero and declare the villages free for the people's return.

 

As many as 12,000 people in five villages were affected by the gas leak.

 

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam Municipal Commissioner Srijana Gummala said about 340 people were hospitalized and the condition of 15 of them is critical. She said styrene gas and associated compound gases could have leaked.