He initially mistook it for a leak from cooking gas cylinder in his house, but only when G Vinay stepped out did he realise the pungent smell was of the killer vapour from a nearby chemical plant that snuffed out 11 lives and hit nearly 1,000 people in Andhra Pradesh.
Heart-wrenching scenes of anxious parents carrying their wards in arms, health workers scrambling to help the affected and fleeing residents were witnessed on Thursday as the enormity of the situation forced them to ignore social distancing and other precautions against coronavirus.
Many collapsed on roads and kerbs trying to flee from the affected areas in a five km radius, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
The leak of styrene, a chemical used to make synthetic rubber and resins, among others, occurred in LG Polymers Limited plant at R R Venkatapuram village near here in the wee hours while people were still fast asleep.
The worst-hit Venkatapuram reverberated with cries of people for help. Many people fell unconscious during their sleep, a villager said.
A couple of people in the village whom PTI contacted painted a grim picture, ruing their personal losses.
"Initially I thought that it was an LPG cylinder leak. However, when we came out we realised it is a leakage from LG polymers factory near our village," Vinay, who lost his uncle in the tragedy, told PTI.
Narendra, another resident of the village, said he saw many people slowly losing their strength and falling unconscious when they tried to take them out of their houses.
"We were fast asleep and at around 2.30 am I woke up as my skin was itching. I opened my eyes but felt a burning sensation. I sensed some danger and woke up my other family members. We all came out and I along with my other neighbours and friends started waking up others," he said.
A first year medical student, two girls, aged six and nine, were among the 11 people killed due to the leakage of styrene vapour and related incidents.
Women and children were seen lying on roads struggling to breathe, reminiscent of the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy when a leak from the Union Carbide plant left around 3,500 dead and many maimed.
Vinay said his brother Kannaji fell unconscious after inhaling the gas and also sustained injuries.
"He is now undergoing treatment at the NRI hospital here. Doctors told us that his lungs were filled with gas. He is being shifted to the ICU," Vinay said.
He said his brother must have sustained injuries in stampede when many of the residents were trying to come out on to the road at once. He, however, was not sure of it.
His uncle Ganga Raju, who also suffered vision problems due to the vapours, fell into a well and died, he said.
Vinay's other family members were treated as outpatients and discharged.
In the hour of crisis, several people extended a helping hand, throwing caution to the wind amid the coronavirus scare.
Visakhapatnam has reported 45 COVID-19 cases.
Local youth who sensed danger started knocking the doors of other residents and brought them out in the wee hours.
Madugula Pydiraju, a local tailor, said his daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren were undergoing treatment. His son-in-law Appala Naidu works for LG Polymers.
Incidentally, Naidu helped many others to be shifted to hospitals, before he himself fell unconscious.
Police took him and his family members to a state-run hospital here, Pydiraju said.
Some undertook more than one trip in the process, helping the police along the way.
Some brought their cars for the operation and all in all they safely evacuated close to 1,000 men, women and children from the affected villages.
The police, too, won praise for their immediate response.
Local Deputy Commissioner Uday Bhaskar virtually became a hero as he led the operation from the front despite himself falling sick due to styrene vapour inhalation.
Overall, around 20 police personnel suffered from the effects of the gas leak.
Visakhapatnam Collector Vinay Chand said 20 ambulances were pressed into service as soon information about the gas leak was received.
Meanwhile, official sources said two of the 11 deceased were yet to be identified.
One of the victims, 19 year-old Annepu Chandramouli was a first year student at the Andhra Medical College here and a resident of Venkatapuram.
Son of a police head constable, he had joined the college here to be near home, after securing the 270th rank the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) last year.
Besides Vinay's uncle, another person also fell into a roadside well and died while trying to escape from their village, sources added.
Exposure to styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene, can affect the central nervous system (CNS), causing headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression.
It is primarily used in the production of polystyrene plastics and resins.
LG Polymers was established in 1961 as "Hindustan Polymers" for manufacturing Polystyrene and its co-polymers at Visakhapatnam. It merged with McDowell & Co. Ltd of UB Group in 1978, according to the company's website.
Taken over by LG Chem (South Korea), Hindustan Polymers was renamed LG Polymers India Private Limited (LGPI) in July, 1997.
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