Five people, including two children, died while over 200 people were hospitalised after a gas leakage from LG Polymers chemical plant in RR Venkatapuram village, Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh.

The factory was trying to open post lockdown when the incident occurred, DG told media.

Several people were taken to hospital after they complained of a burning sensation in their eyes and breathing difficulties. Around 5000 people have fallen sick following the incident.

Two elderly people and a seven-year-old girl were among the eight who died in the wee hours on Thursday.

Five people were declared brought dead by the King George Hospital Medical Superintendent. Three more died after falling into a canal in Venkatapuram, one of the affected villages. More than 180 people are being treated at the King George Hospital.

Several hundreds of people complained of breathlessness, irritation in eyes and stomach pain following the leakage of gas. People from all villages around the plant have been shifted to safer places.

Footages of the incident show people lying on the roads near the site, possibly unconscious.

The NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed in the area and a rescue operation is under way.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy is also scheduled to visit the city and take stock of the situation.

The LG Polymers industry was established in 1961 as Hindustan Polymers for manufacturing polystyrene and its co-polymers in Vizag.