New Delhi-Sana
Nine people were killed and at least 1,000 were hospitalized after being injured as a result of a gas leak at a chemical plant near the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state in southern India.
"The leak at the LG Polymers plant killed nine people and injured hundreds, in addition to the evacuation of 1500 people, most of them from the neighboring villages," Reuters quoted Swaruba Rani, the city's assistant commissioner, as saying.
The accident occurred late yesterday evening and it is suspected that the leaked gas is styrene gas, which resulted in the absence of large numbers of people in the neighboring villages from awareness or suffering from breathing problems.
Eight people were killed by a huge explosion that rocked a chemical factory in Bouisar district of Maharashtra in western India last January.