Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has convened a meeting of the national disaster management Authority in the wake of the situation following gas leak from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh in Southern India.
The meeting took place at 11am on Thursday, , the prime minister's office said.
At least nine people have died and around 100 hospitalised after gas leaked in the early hours of Thursday (7).
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is closely monitoring the incident and has directed district officials to take steps to bring the situation under control. The chief minister will be visiting the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam where the injured are being treated.
The toxic gas leaked from a plant of LG Polymers which had reopened after being shut due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The South Korean company makes polystyrene and expandable polystyrene, a versatile plastic used to make a wide variety of consumer products like toys and appliances and has been in operation since 1961.
The chief minister has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control, his office said.
In a series of tweets, the greater Visakhapatnam municipal corporation (GVMC) has asked people of colonies and villages around the plant to leave for safe locations and use wet cloth as a mask to cover their nose and mouth.
