Visakhapatnam: Girl loses life, parents survive

Visakhapatnam: Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at King George Hospital in the aftermath of the disastrous gas leak on Thursday. There was an incident where a girl died because of inhaling the gas while her parents who were also affected by the gas were undergoing treatment.

According to her uncle, who lives 300 metre away from the LG Polymer factory, around 2.30 am they felt heavy smell of gas which was unbearable and he and his family members started feeling uneasiness. "I left the house along with my family in my car and drove away for about one-and-a-half kilometre. My head had become heavy but I suddenly remembered that my brother and other family members also stay in the affected area. When I tried to contact them, there was no response.

So I left my wife and child at Pendurthy and went back to check my brother and his family," he said. He said when he knocked on the door there was no response and he with help of others forced open the door and found them lying unconscious. He said they were first taken to Pendurthy area hospital but were asked to take them to KGH since they had developed breathing problems. He said while they could save his brother and his wife, his niece was declared brought dead.

In another tragic incident, a 70-year-old R Gangadhar Chowdary, a retired manager of Andhra Bank left Venkatapuram on his bike following leakage of the gas. He could drive up to Mangalapalem near Kothavalsa in Vizianagaram district. But since he had inhaled the gas and developed breathing problem, he fell off the bike. People who saw him on the roadside took him to Kothavalsa hospital. He died while talking to the doctors after giving his name and bank's name.