Visakhapatnam, other world gas leak incidents; here’s a list of major tragedies

 A gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday (May 7) and spread to villages in a five-kilometer radius, killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000. The incident took place at the LG Polymer plant at Gopalapatnam on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam.

The plastic factory that was closed during the lockdown was reportedly being prepared for the resumption of operations. About 500 people from 200-250 families in a three-kilometer radius were evacuated to safer places.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered a probe into the matter, besides announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore for kin of the deceased. So far, 10,000 people have been rescued from the surrounding areas.

Here is a list of major gas leak incidents across the world:

1. March 18, 1937: Nearly 300 students were killed in a natural gas explosion at Texas school. The gas leak took place in the basement of 1,200-student Consolidated School in New London, Texas, causing a massive explosion that killed almost 300 children and teachers. The Consolidated School of New London, Texas, was situated in the middle of a large oil and natural gas field.

2. Bhopal gas tragedy (1984): The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy which killed thousands of people is among the world’s major industrial accidents” of the 20th century, a UN report said. Around 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant owned by US multinational Union Carbide Corp in Bhopal on December 3, 1984.

According to official records, the Bhopal gas tragedy killed 3,787 people. The figures were updated by the Madhya Pradesh government later as the immediate official estimate had put the death toll due to gas leak from the Union Carbide factory at 2,259. In an affidavit submitted in 2006, the MP government said that the Bhopal gas leak caused 5,58,125 injuries that included approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.

3. Piper Alpha disaster (1988): It was the world’s worst oil rig disaster, killing 167 people on July 6, 1988. The explosion took place at Occidental Petroleum’s Piper Alpha oil rig in the North Sea following a gas leak.

4. Ufa Train Disaster (1989): It was a railway accident in the Iglinsky district (then the Bashkir A.S.S.R, Soviet Union) that killed 575, injuring over 800 people on June 4, 1989. The gas had spilled out from a faulty pipeline near the railway, creating a highly flammable cloud in the path of trains. As the trains passed each other, sparks from their wheels ignited the gas, causing a huge explosion.

5. Guadalajara Gas blast (1992): A leak of gasoline into the sewer system caused 12 explosions in downtown Guadalajara, Mexico occurred between 10:05 and 11:16 am, killing over 200 people and injuring more than 600 on April 22, 1992. Eight kilometers of streets were destroyed or seriously damaged in the explosion.

6. Beijing Gas leak (December 2008): A gas leak at a steel plant near Beijing killed 17 people and killed 27, said China’s official News Agency Xinhua. The accident occurred at the Ganglu Iron and Steel Co Ltd, which had 7,000 employees.

7. Gas leak in China Mine (Nov 2011): A gas leak in China Mine accident killed 20 miners. An initial investigation found that the gas leak occurred at one platform inside the shaft and the gas spread to another platform, trapping 43 miners working in the two areas.

8. Kaohsiung gas explosions (2014): A series of gas explosions took place in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung that killed 25 people and injured 267 others on July 31, 2014. A propane gas leak took place in an underground industrial pipeline which was not inspected for more than 20 years and it was reported to be the reason behind the origin of the blast.

9. China gas leak (May 2017): A gas leak had killed at least 18 people working in a coal mine in central China’s Hunan province. As many as 55 people were working in the mining shaft when a gas leak took place at the Jilinqiao colliery in Huangfengqiao Township, Youxian County.

10. Iran Gas Leak (August 2017): More than 400 people suffered respiratory and other health problems after a chlorine gas leakage in the south of Iran. The gas leaked from reservoirs in an abandoned warehouse of a local water supply company in Dezful city on August 13, 2017.

11. China Hebei province gas leak (Nov 2018): A flammable gas leak at a plant owned by ChemChina subsidiary Hebei Shenghua Chemical Industry Co caused a blast that killed 23 people and injured 22 in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province. PVC producer Hebei Shenghua had leaked vinyl chloride during production, and it caught fire causing a series of explosions that burned trucks and buildings, according to parent company ChemChina.