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At least 112 women have been hospitalised after a gas leak at a garment factory in Andhra Pradesh, police said on Wednesday.
The workers at the plant in Atchyutapuram district complained of nausea and vomiting on Tuesday night.
"The women are all stable. There are no deaths. Investigations are ongoing," said senior police officer M. Upendra.
According to local reports, the women were being treated in different hospitals in Anakapalli, Atchyutapuram and Visakhapatnam.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday took note of the situation and ordered safety audit in all the industries of the state.
"The CM reviewed the situation with the officials and enquired about the medical assistance rendered to the victims. Apart from finding out the causes, he also ordered for focus on the measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future," read a statement from the chief minister's office.
Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath said the cause of the gas leak was yet to be ascertained and the police and pollution control board teams were investigating the matter.
The incident was similar to an accident on June 3 where around 200 women passed out after a gas leak in the same area, broadcaster NDTV reported.
Seeds Intimate Apparel India, where the two incidents occurred, said in a statement that the "affected associates" were in a stable condition following Tuesday night's incident.
"A few of our associates complained of an unpleasant odour in the atmosphere. Some of them were taken to the closest hospital for medical precaution. The affected associates are in a stable condition," it said.
However, the opposition parties slammed the state government over its alleged failure to prevent such mishaps. The state government has not made public the report submitted by a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad on the June 3 gas leak.
The report of an official committee, headed by the Anakapalli district joint collector, was also not revealed. It is suspected that ammonia gas leaked from a nearby Porus Laboratories unit.
Soon after the incident, the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board ordered the closure of the lab.
The lab was closed for a few days before it resumed operations.
Telugu Desam Party general-secretary Nara Lokesh claimed the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was not waking up from its deep slumber as such mishaps were occurring repeatedly.
"Two incidents in two months in the Brandix Special Economic Zone clearly exposes the failure of the government in taking corrective action," he said.
"The chief minister is turning Visakhapatnam, known as city of destiny, into Vishadapatnam (city of tragedy)."
Bharatiya Janata Party state president Somu Veerraju also came down heavily on the state government, saying its gross negligence was glaring.
"Has the government given up its responsibility of overseeing industrial safety?" he asked.
In 2020, at least five people were killed and hundreds hospitalised after a gas leak at a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam.
In 1984, India witnessed one of its worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Around 3,500 people living around the plant operated by Union Carbide died in the days following the leak.
People continue to suffer the effects of the leak to this day. Children are born disfigured, with webbed feet and hands, and stunted growth because of the gas that affected their mothers.
AFP, Indo-Asian News Service
"Two incidents in two months in the Brandix Special Economic Zone clearly exposes the failure of the government in taking corrective action. The chief minister is turning Visakhapatnam, known as city of destiny, into Vishadapatnam (city of tragedy)."
- Telugu Desam Party general-secretary Nara Lokesh
