On Tuesday (August 2), over 100 workers at an apparel unit in the Brandix Special Economic Zone (Brandix SEZ) at Atchutapuram near Visakhapatnam fell sick after a suspected gas leak. The cause and source of the incident remained unclear. This is the second incident at the same unit within a month.
On June 3, at the same facility, over 300 workers fell sick due to a suspected gas leak.
State minister G Amaranth said, “121 workers affected, being treated in various hospitals. The seeds company where a second-time gas leakage was reported in 2 months has been closed till the time investigation concludes. Cause of the incident to be ascertained.”
As per reports, at least 4,000 workers were present on Tuesday at the unit. As per district officials, 94 persons were under treatment after the gas leak incident. In addition, 53 people were admitted to the government hospital. Meanwhile, 41 were treated at various other hospitals in the district.
As per medical officials, patients admitted to the hospital complained about the difficulty in breathing, vomiting, and nausea. As per reports, most of the women employed at Brandix SEZ were women, and some who fell sick were also said to be pregnant.
On June 3, after a suspected ammonia gas leak from a nearby Porus Laboratories unit, more than 200 women workers fell unconscious at Brandix SEZ. Later, the unit was ordered to shut down.