At least Eight Dead when the plant was being re-opened for the first time after lockdown in India

Eight people have died, with hundreds of others taken ill, after a gas leak in south India.

Doctors say “hundreds” of people have been taken to hospital – many complaining of a burning sensation in the eyes and difficulties breathing.

The incident, which took place around 03:00 local time (21:30 GMT), may have been due to negligence, officials say.

The leak occurred when the plant was being re-opened for the first time since 24 March when India went into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The state Industries Minister Goutam Reddy said that it looked as though proper procedures and guidelines were not followed when the plant was being re-opened.

As the gas spread, residents ran out of their homes in panic.

Distressing visuals of people fainting and dropping unconscious on the streets are being shared on social media.

Some factory employees are believed to have been inside when the leak occurred, but officials say they have no information about them.

It is feared that the fumes have spread over a radius of about 3km (2 miles) and officials have been evacuating people from surrounding areas.

A senior district official said that initial attempts to control the gas leak were unsuccessful.

However, local news agencies have reported that the situation is now under control.

Meanwhile, Rajendra Reddy, a senior official in the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board, said that the leaked gas was styrene, which is usually refrigerated.

“We are trying to understand the long-term impact of the chemical on those who have inhaled it during the leak,” he said.

In the meantime, officials have asked people to protect themselves by covering their faces with a wet cloth.

India has a tragic history of gas leaks.

In 1984, a chemical leak in a plant in the central city of Bhopal killed thousands of people, in what is acknowledged to be the world’s worst industrial disaster.

More than 35 years later, victims say children are still being born with disabilities because of the effects of the spill.