Death toll rises to 39 in India Sigachi factory blast 58 injured
HYDERABAD, India: At least 39 people have been confirmed dead and 58 injured after a powerful explosion triggered a fire at a pharmaceutical factory in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
“The condition of the bodies is such that we’ve had to deploy a specialised medical team to carry out DNA tests,” said Health and Medical Cabinet Minister of Telangana Damodar Raja Narasimha on Tuesday.
The blast, which erupted on Monday afternoon at a facility run by Sigachi Industries, took place in the plant’s spray dryer unit – a section used to convert raw materials into powder for drug manufacturing. The factory is located roughly 50km (31 miles) from Hyderabad, the state capital.
Authorities recovered 34 bodies from the debris, while two more workers succumbed to injuries in hospital, according to Telangana’s fire services director, GV Narayana Rao.
“The entire structure has collapsed. The fire is under control and we’re continuing to clear the rubble in case more people are trapped,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
Twenty-five of the deceased are yet to be identified, a district administrative official, P Pravinya, said.
About 36 workers remain in hospital with burns and other injuries. Police officials said that more than 140 people were working in the plant when the incident occurred.
Local residents reported hearing the blast from several kilometres away.
The incident has raised new concerns about industrial safety in India’s booming pharmaceutical sector. Despite the country’s reputation as a global supplier of low-cost medicines and vaccines, fatal accidents at drug manufacturing units are not rare, particularly in facilities handling chemicals or solvents.
