One dead, four injured after ammonia gas leak in Kurnool

TIRUPATI: One person died and four others were injured after ammonia leaked from a fertilizer plant near Nandyal in Kurnool district on Saturday. The tragedy could have been severe had the gas leakage was not plugged in time before it could surround the residential areas. The impact of ammonia was felt only within the premises of the factory.
District collector G Veerapandian, who rushed to Nandyal along with SP Kaginelli Fakeerappa and other officials, supervised relief and rescue operation.An inquiry has been ordered into the mishap. Panic gripped the area following the gas leakage as it comes close on the heels of the styrene leak from LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam.
TOI had earlier reported on the pollution caused by the plant and the protests by the locals, who alleged that they have been suffering from various ailments due to pollution. The AP Pollution Control Board served a show-cause notice on the plant over the pollution issue.
Veerapandian told media that the incident occurred at the factory of SPY Agro Industries Limited near Nandyal. Soon fire services, police and revenue officials visited the plant and brought the situation under control. The district administration ensured the ammonia gas leak was restricted to the factory campus.
Factory sources said a pipeline burst while pressure was being reset for operation. The leaked gas, ammonia, is commonly used as a chilling agent in carbondioxide bottling.
Veerapandian said the factory was being restarted after executing maintenance works when the leakage occurred at around 9.45 am. While all the factory workers managed to run to safety, manager Srinivasa Rao (50), who could not rush out, died on the spot, while four others - Thimma Reddy, Adinarayana, Tirumala and Ravi - who inhaled the gas were rushed to the hospital for treatment. They are said to be stable.
It took nearly three hours for fire tenders to bring the situation under control at the factory.
The district collector said the inquiry report will also suggest measures on prevention of such mishaps.