Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting Thursday morning to take stock of the steps being taken in response to the Vishakhapatnam gas leak incident, the government said in an official statement.
“He discussed at length the measures being taken for the safety of the affected people as well as for securing the site affected by the disaster,” the statement said.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, and ministers of state for home affairs, Nityanand Rai and G. Kishan Reddy and other senior officers also attended the meeting.
“On receiving the first information about the incident today morning, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister talked with CM, Andhra Pradesh and assured all required aid and assistance from the Centre to tackle the situation. They are monitoring the situation closely and continuously,” it said.
Eleven people have died in the incident so far and 300 others have been hospitalised.
Immediately after this meeting, the cabinet secretary held a detailed review meeting with the secretaries of the ministries of home affairs, environment, forest and climate change, chemicals and petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, information and broadcasting; members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and director general (DG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF); director general of health services (DGHS) and director AIIMS, and other medical experts; to chart out specific steps to support the management of the situation on the ground.
{{/usCountry}}Immediately after this meeting, the cabinet secretary held a detailed review meeting with the secretaries of the ministries of home affairs, environment, forest and climate change, chemicals and petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, information and broadcasting; members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and director general (DG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF); director general of health services (DGHS) and director AIIMS, and other medical experts; to chart out specific steps to support the management of the situation on the ground.
{{/usCountry}}“It was decided that a team from CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) unit of NDRF from Pune, along with an expert team of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur would be rushed to Vishakhapatnam immediately to support the State Government in the management of the crisis on the ground, and also to take measures for resolving the short term as also long term medical impact of the leak,” the statement said..
The styrene gas leak occurred in a chemical plant at 3 am in RR Venkatapuram village, Gopalapatnam Mandal in Visakhpatnam District. It affected the surrounding villages namely Narava, B.C Colony, Bapuji Nagar, Kampalapalem and Krishna Nagar. Styrene gas, which is toxic in nature, may cause irritation to the skin, eyes and causes respiratory problems and other medical conditions.
“The NDRF at Vishakhapatnam was deployed immediately to support the State Government and local administration. The NDRF team carried out immediate evacuation of communities living in the immediate vicinity of the site,” the statement said.