At least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured following an explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical factory near the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Monday.
Footage broadcast by local news outlets showed the Sigachi Industries factory in the Sangareddy district of Telangana reduced to ruins and plumes of black smoke billowing into the air.
Firefighters said they recovered the charred corpses of 10 workers while around 30 others were admitted to hospital, where two later succumbed to burns and were also pronounced dead.
Indian Labor Minister Vivek Venkataswamy also confirmed that “several injured people have been hospitalized.”
“It was an explosion in a spray dryer unit of the factory, which is used to process raw material into fine powder for making drugs,” said a fire department spokesman, without specifying what exactly caused the blast. “We are continuing to search the rubble for other bodies.”
Modi announces compensation for families
A total of 65 workers were in the factory at the time of the explosion, according to the Times of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his anguish over the loss of lives on social media and promised 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,333) in financial support to each next of kin.
India is home to some of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies which play a major role in the global supply of generic medicines and vaccines.
But industrial accidents, particularly involving chemical reactors, are common.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
