A blast occurred at one of the reactor units at Sigachi Industries located at Pashamylaram on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Monday, causing eight casualties.
According to officials, 26 injured have been rushed to hospital and some of them are in a critical state. The deceased workers were employed at the publicly listed pharma company and their bodies were pulled out from the rubble.
The Telangana administration swung into action after the mishap occurred at around 9.30 am. The district collector and police officials reached the spot and supervised rescue efforts. It has been learnt that a huge explosion caused by unknown reasons had impacted the area setting off panic in the neighbourhood.
The fire raged around the reactor areas firefighters struggled to put out the fire. It is estimated that dozens of workers might still be trapped inside the collapsed plant area. The officials are unsure about the headcount of the employees who turned up in the morning shift which has complicated the rescue operations. More than 10 fire engines and multiple fire robots were pressed into service after the blast.
Sigachi Industries are the manufacturers of pharma ingredients like Microcrystalline Cellulose. The shares of the company crashed as news of the accident was reported widely.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed sorrow and assured the families that the government would extend all possible support. He also instructed officials to provide the best treatment to the injured. Earlier, state Health Minister, Damodar Raja Narasimha rushed to the spot. Former Telangana CM, K Chandrashekar Rao expressed shock over the incident and demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.
The officials say they are still ascertaining facts related to the cause of the explosion. Pashamylaram is an industrial area and house a number of chemical, pharma and small-scale units and is not a stranger to fire accidents. A few months back, fire was reported at a furniture manufacturing unit. Last year, a massive fire broke out in the waste management company but no casualties were reported.
