Vizag gas leak: Celebrities throng Twitter to express grief over mishap

New Delhi: After a major gas leak in a chemical plant of LG Polymers at RR Venkatapuram village in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district turned out to be a tragedy claiming at least 8 and affecting several others, celebrities from all walks of life thronged Twitter and other social media platforms to express grief over the mishap. 

South superstar Ravi Teja, Virat Kohli, Payal Rohatgi, Yuvraj Singh, Umesh Yadav, Praneeta Subhash amongst various others took to Twitter to write: 

Deeply disturbed by the #VizagGasLeak news. The year is worsening by the day. My deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.. and wishing a speedy recovery to those injured. I hope that you all remain safe.  — Ravi Teja (@RaviTeja_offl) May 7, 2020

My condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the #VizagGasLeak. Praying for everyone affected and recovering in the hospital.  — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 7, 2020

Really unfortunate news of the #VizagGasLeak claiming lives and affecting many others. My deepest condolences to the family members of those deceased and praying for the quick recovery of those affected. Stay strong and safe Vizag — yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) May 7, 2020

Praying for everyone affected in Vizag. Condolences to the bereaved families  #VizagGasLeak — Umesh Yaadav (@y_umesh) May 7, 2020

#VizagGasLeak news is just heart wrenching ..
My prayers with the families of the bereaved.. #PrayForVizag
2020 - I’m just speechless pic.twitter.com/x022Emrxwe — Pranitha Subhash (@pranitasubhash) May 7, 2020

Ram Ram ji  #VizagGasLeak  Sad Sad Sad  Bhagwan give shanti to all victims  pic.twitter.com/24VkmdqRqt #payalrohatgi — PAYAL ROHATGI & Team- Bhagwan Ram Bhakts (@Payal_Rohatgi) May 7, 2020

Woke up to the horrific news of the #VizagGasLeak.

My condolences to everyone who lost their families and wishing a speedy recovery to those hospitalised  — Tamannaah Bhatia (@tamannaahspeaks) May 7, 2020

So sad to about the #VizagGasLeak ! My heart goes to all the people affected by this. I hope measures are taken really soon to get things under control. Stay safe my vizag people  — Rakul Singh (@Rakulpreet) May 7, 2020

Heart breaking to see the visuals of #VizagGasLeak. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the people who are no more. I hope all necessary measures are taken to make sure the affected people recover at the earliest. My thoughts and prayers with the people of Vizag.  — Ram Charan (@AlwaysRamCharan) May 7, 2020

Heartwrenching to hear the news of #VizagGasLeak, more so during these challenging times... Heartfelt condolences and strength to the bereaved families in this hour of need. Wishing a speedy recovery to those affected. My prayers for you... Stay safe VIZAG. — Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) May 7, 2020

"The officials are using inhibitors to neutralise the vapours. Slowly the vapours are reducing. It was not arrested fully. They are using neutralisers such as TBC (4-tert-Butylcatechol (TBC)," Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Visakhapatnam, J Siva Sankar Reddy told PTI.

Exposure to styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene can affect the central nervous system (CNS), causing headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression.

It is primarily used in the production of polystyrene plastics and resins, according to experts. "The spread maybe two or three kilometres wide. It depends on the wind speed. We cannot exactly say how many kilometres it has spread to. If the wind flow is heavy, there is a chance that it will spread more in the air," the official added.

Reddy said the chemical plant was not operational due to the lockdown.

"The company was planning to reopen it soon. There were just a few employees -- security guards and maintenance personnel there at the time of the incident," he said. According to Reddy, the firm, which has 350 to 400 employees, has all necessary permits to operate.

The prime minister also called a meeting of National Disaster Management Authority officials at his residence at 11 AM to hold discussions over the incident which has leftover 100 in critical condition. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also attended the meeting.

(With PTI inputs)