Visakhapatnam, LG Polymers India, from whose chemical plant in Visakhapatnam the gas leaked early Thursday, is part of the South Korean group LG Chemical and is headquartered in Mumbai.

Founded as Hindustan Polymers in 1961 for making polystyrene and its co-polymers at Visakhapatnam, the company was merged with McDowell & Co Ltd of UB Group in 1978.

Meanwhile, the South Korean group LG Chemical looked at India as an important market and in order to grow aggressively acquired Hindustan Polymers from UB group and renamed it as LG Polymers India in 1997.

According to LG Polymers, it is one of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene in India.

Seven persons have died and hundreds of others took ill after the gas leaked from the factory plant in RR Venkatapuram village near Gopalpatnam.

Municipal Commissioner Srijana Gummalla said PVC gas or styrene leaked from the plant around 2.30 am. Because of the leak of the compound gas, hundreds of people living in the neighbourhood inhaled it and fell unconscious or complained of breathing problems, she said.

More than 70 people, who fell unconscious, have been hospitalised at the KG Hospital here.

The initial casualties included an 8-year-old girl. One man is reported to have died when he jumped into a well while another person fell off the balcony of his house.