At least nine people have died and more than 300 have been taken to hospital after a gas leak in southern India.
Many of the injured complained of a burning sensation in the eyes and breathing difficulties following the incident in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The leak has been traced to an LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam and it is feared the fumes have spread over a radius of about two miles.
According to local official Vinay Chand, the gas leak happened after a fire broke out as workers prepared to restart the plant following a relaxation in the COVID-19 lockdown rules.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from nearby areas, including 1,500 from one village, officials said.
Styrene, which is highly flammable and releases a poisonous gas when burnt, leaked from the plant during the early hours of the morning, when families in the surrounding villages were asleep, the commissioner of the Visakhapatnam city corporation said.
"Hundreds of people have inhaled it and either fell unconscious or having breathing issues," Srijana Gummalla added.
Anywhere within a roughly two-mile (3km) radius of the plant was vulnerable, the municipal corporation said in a tweet.
At least one coronavirus containment area is affected.
India's prime minister Narendra Modi said that he had spoken to officials from the federal home ministry and the National
Disaster Management Authority, who were monitoring the crisis.
"I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," he said in a tweet.
The LG Polymers plant makes polystyrene products, according to a company website, which are used in manufacturing electric fan blades, cups and cutlery and containers for cosmetic products such as make-up.
In December 1984, thousands of people died following a gas leak in Bhopal.
More than 500,000 people were exposed to the methyl isocyanate gas in what is believed to be the world's worst industrial disaster.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2luZGlhLWF0LWxlYXN0LWZpdmUtZGVhZC1hbmQtMTIwLWluanVyZWQtYWZ0ZXItZ2FzLWxlYWstaW4tYW5kaHJhLXByYWRlc2gtMTE5ODQzNTfSAXFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvaW5kaWEtYXQtbGVhc3QtZml2ZS1kZWFkLWFuZC0xMjAtaW5qdXJlZC1hZnRlci1nYXMtbGVhay1pbi1hbmRocmEtcHJhZGVzaC0xMTk4NDM1Nw?oc=5
2020-05-07 05:23:06Z
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