This is Styrene gas that affects the central nervous system, throat, skin, eyes and some other parts of the body, he said.
The technical glitch caused the temperature in the chemical storage tank to rise above the safety level of 20 degrees, leading to gasification and consequent evaporation of styrene, he said.
Pradhan also asserted that the fumes that were seen coming out was a 'technical' issue and there was no need to panic.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 1 crore each to the kin of those killed in the incident.
Over 100 hospitalised due to the gas leak which took place at LG Polymers chemical plant in Gopalapatnam.
Staff at the Simhachalam north railway station, which is near the chemical plant LG Polymers started feeling suffocated and burning sensation in the eyes soon after the leak. Trains crossing the railway station stopped from 8:35 am to 12 noon.
Emotions ran high as the villagers demanded that the plant be shut down immediately as it completely ruined their lives.
Status quo at the plant was restored on Saturday morning, the company said in a statement.
The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses. Speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting, Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh each to those undergoing treatment on ventilator support and Rs 25,000 to those who took treatment as out-patients after developing health complications due to inhalation of the styrene vapour.
Unconscious children being carried by parents in their arms, people laying on roads, health workers scrambling to attend to those affected by the styrene vapour leak and residents fleeing were some of the scenes that played out near Visakhapatnam on Thursday, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
On Thursday in Visakhapatnam, hundreds of villagers, most of them children suffered the consequences of the vapour leak like irritation in eyes, breathlessness, nausea and rashes, and over 100 people were admitted to government and private hospitals. Several police personnel, who came for the rescue operation, also suffered symptoms like breathlessness, irritation in eyes and fell unconscious.
Sportspeople across the country offered condolences to the families affected in the Visakhapatnam gas leak tragedy on Thursday.
Here are other gas leaks that made headlines in the last few years:
In a communication to all states and union territories, the NDMA said due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed the established standard operating procedures.
A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, set up a five-member Committee to probe Thursday's gas leak incident in the chemical factory, in which 11 people were killed and 1,000 exposed, and submit a report before May 18.
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