People carry a woman affected by a chemical gas leak in Vishakhapatnam, India, on Thursday. AP

A chemical gas leaked from an industrial plant in southern India early on Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. At least nine people were killed and nearly 1,000 suffered breathing difficulties and other reactions.

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Administrator Vinay Chand said several people fainted on the road and were rushed to a hospital in Vishakhapatnam, a city in Andhra Pradesh state. The dead included an 8-year-old girl.

Police Commissioner R.K. Meena said one person died as he fell into a village well while running away from the plant and another person died after he jumped from the second storey of his house to escape. The others died in a hospital.

Children affected by a gas leak from the LG Polymers plant lie on hospital beds in Visakhapatnam, India. AFP

He also said nearly 100 people hospitalised were in stable condition with no threat to their lives. The gas leak at the plant has been stopped and the air was clear, he added.

The synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the LG Polymers plant, which workers were preparing to restart after it was closed during the coronavirus lockdown, Chand said. The gas leaked after a fire broke out and it has since been extinguished, he said.

Nearly 1,000 people in an area of 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) complained of breathing difficulties and burning sensation in their eyes, he said.

Authorities deployed 25 ambulances to shift the sick to hospitals and others away from the accident site.

A crowd gathers outside the LG Polymers plant from where chemical gas leaked in Vishakhapatnam. AP

Meena said nearly 3,000 people were evacuated from a village near the plant.

Images from television showed people lying on the streets after they collapsed while trying to flee.

An eyewitness said there was a total panic as a mist-like gas enveloped the area. "People felt breathless in their homes and tried to run away. Darkness added to the confusion,” he told a television channel. His name wan’t given by the channel.

Srijana Gummala, the local municipal commissioner, said water was sprayed in the area to minimise the impact of the gas. "Through public address system, the people are being asked to use wet masks,” he said.

In this still image taken from a video, a rescue official helps a victim following a gas leak in Visakhapatnam, India. Reuters

India imposed a strict, nationwide lockdown on March 25 to control the spread of the coronavirus. Measures were eased on Monday, allowing neighbourhood shops and manufacturing units to reopen to resume economic activity.

India has so far reported nearly 50,000 virus cases with 14,183 recoveries and 1,694 deaths.

Associated Press