Vizag gas leak: FIR blames “some bad-smelling smoke”, does not name company staff

The NGT also ordered LG Polymers India Pvt to submit Rs 50 crore a provisional amount for life damage. (Twitter / Srijana Gumalla)

Eleven people were killed when Filtered styrene gas from the LG Polymer Factory in Visakhapatnam before sunrise on May 7. The Andhra Pradesh government established a high-level research committee. But the FIR in the gas leak registered at the Gopalapatnam police station by the local police is saying.

Filed at 7 am on May 7, according to police records, almost five hours after the incident, the entire FIR claims that “some smoke” came out of the factory, that there was a “bad smell” and it was this smell the one that Life in danger of extinction. “At approximately 03:30 hours, some smoke came out of the LG Polymers Company, due to the reason why the neighboring villages (were) affected and with a bad smell and the smell is a danger to human life. Due to fear, all the villagers fled … from the houses. In the incident, 5 people died and the rest were admitted to hospitals as hospitalized patients. “Incidentally, the number of deaths mentioned here is five when 10 had already been confirmed dead when FIR was presented.

The FIR does not mention styrene despite the fact that police officers had confirmed the presence of this gas by then. The FIR also does not name anyone from the company.

Read | Vizag gas leak: “People came out and collapsed … women and children were crying”

The FIR was registered under Sections 278 (Making an atmosphere harmful to health); 284 (Negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substances), 285 (any act with combustible matter that endangers life), 337 (Causing harm for act that endangers the life or personal safety of others), 338 (Causing harm serious by act that endangers the life or personal safety of others), 304-II (knowledge that the act was likely to cause death) of IPC.

When contacted, the Joint Chief Factory Inspector Visakhapatnam, J Siva Shankar Reddy, told The Indian Express that “the responsibility for reopening the factory safely” after the closure was that of General Manager and Chief Operating Officer , LG Polymers, PP Chandra Mohan Rao.

“But he was not present at the factory on the night of May 6 to 7 when it was decided to restart operations,” he said.

READ | Vizag gas leak: angry residents protest outside LG Polymers, demand closure of chemical plant

A soldier from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is equipped with equipment before proceeding to the area from which the chemical gas was leaked in Vishakhapatnam (AP / File)

Despite several calls, Rao was not available for comment.

“None of the senior managers was present. There were 24 people at the factory at the time, half of whom were contract workers. There were some engineers under whose supervision they were working. They didn’t have the experience to handle the situation, “said Reddy.

When asked why no one was appointed to the FIR, Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar Meena said: “Even if the FIR does not appoint anyone, the investigation will uncover the role of each responsible person in the operation. of the fabric. The high-powered committee and the expert committee are also examining the roles of senior managers. ”

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Emails sent to the chairman and managing director of LG Polymers, India, Sunkey Jeong, and technical adviser Dongoso Kim Diaz, went unanswered. Neither of these two officials was present at the factory the night of the incident.
On May 9, LG Polymers broke the silence to issue a statement offering “condolences and apologies to all those affected by the incident.”

Admitting that the prima facie case was “steam escaping from the styrene monomer storage tank,” the company said it was working with the government to ensure that everyone affected is “served.” The firm has yet to announce any compensation.

To investigate the incident, the state government formed a committee headed by Special Chief Secretary (environment and forests) Neerabh Kumar Prasad and four others: Special Chief Secretary (Department of Industries and Commerce) R Karikal Valaven; Visakhapatnam District Collector Vinay Chand and Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner R K Meena as members and AP Pollution Control Board Secretary-Member Vivek Yadav as coordinating member.

Committee members are taking the help of the directors of the Indian Petroleum Institute in Dehradun and Visakhapatnam, and of NDRF experts in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies.

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