Gas leak: PM takes stock of situation, assures all help to Andhra CM

PTI, May 7, 2020, 11:34 AM IST

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, May 7 took stock of the situation in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam where a gas leak from a chemical plant has left six dead, and assured all possible assistance to state Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“The prime minister has also convened a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority at 11 am in wake of the situation,” the PMO said.

The prime minister wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Union Home Ministry officials and National Disaster Management Authority regarding the situation “which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam.”

The Prime Minister’s Office said Modi spoke to the state chief minister.

“He assured all help and support,” a PMO tweet said.

At least six people have died and nearly 100 hospitalized after a gas leak at a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday.

“The gas leak impacted villages within a five-kilometer radius of the plant,” according to officials.

“Six people, including an eight-year-old child, have been killed and over 100 admitted to various government and private hospitals,” Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said.

People in the Gopalapatnam area, where the chemical plant is located, complained of irritation in eyes, breathlessness, nausea, and rashes on their bodies.