Visakhapatnam, Nov 27: An Odia youth died and nine others fell critically ill after inhaling toxic gas at a pharma company in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district near here.

The deceased has been identified as Abhijit Das (23), a native of Odisha.

The incident occurred at Tagoor Laboraties Pvt Ltd at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Parawada, about 35 km from this port city, on Tuesday but it came to light on Wednesday after the affected workers exhibited symptoms.

The workers were engaged in maintenance work on a reactor, which underwent a heavy pressure build-up while mixing Hydrochloric Acid and chloroform.

The workers inhaled toxic fumes around 4 p.m. but they started exhibiting the symptoms around midnight. The affected workers faced cough and breathing problems. They were all shifted to a hospital in Gajuwaka here.

One of them succumbed while others were undergoing treatment. The condition of two of the workers is stated to be critical.

Police registered a case and took up further investigation.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha spoke to the District Collector and directed him to ensure that the affected workers are given the best possible treatment.

Anitha said in a statement that though the government has given directives in the wake of similar incidents in the past, the companies haven’t taken things seriously. She said stringent action would be taken against those found negligent, resulting in the tragedy.

This is the latest in a series of industrial accidents in and around the industrial hub of Visakhapatnam during the last few years.

Anakapalli district witnessed two industrial accidents in a span of 48 hours in August this year.

In the first accident, 17 people were killed and 36 injured in a reactor blast at a pharma unit in Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone.

Four workers were injured in another accident in a pharma unit at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Parawada.

Following these incidents, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu asked all hazardous industries falling under the ‘red category’ to conduct regular internal safety audits to prevent accidents.

The Chief Minister also revealed that since 2019, the combined Visakhapatnam district reported 119 industrial accidents in which 120 people died.

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed concern over the gas leak and urged the government to provide proper compensation for the kin of the deceased.

Reddy also urged the government to provide quality treatment to those hospitalized in this connection.