1 killed, 2 injured in factory blast in Andhra Pradesh
The incident took place at Vasanth Chemicals which manufactures products used as intermediaries in the pharmaceutical industry.
Hyderabad One worker was killed and two others were injured after a reactor in a chemical factory exploded in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district, on Wednesday morning, the police said.
The incident took place at Vasanth Chemicals which manufactures products used as intermediaries in the pharmaceutical industry. “The deceased has been identified as Pradip Rout (44), hailing from Odisha,” Atchutapuram inspector of police Ch Narsing Rao said.
According to Rao, the explosion took place when the workers were involved in the manufacturing of chemicals. Due to the sudden explosion, one of the workers was critically injured at the spot, while others managed to flee.
The workers alerted the management, which in tur alerted the police and the fire brigade. The police rushed to the spot along with a fire tender and took up rescue operations. The fire was extinguished before it spread to other parts of the factory, Rao said.
“The injured were taken to the Anakapalli government hospital, where Pradip Rout succumbed. The others are out of danger,” Rao said, adding that the exact cause of the explosion of reactor is yet to be ascertained.
State home minister Vangalapudi Anitha called up Anakapalli district collector Vijay Krishnan and enquired about the reactor explosion in the chemical factory and directed that the injured get better treatment.
The minister also asked the officials concerned to speed up relief measures at the site.
In June 2023, six persons died in a massive explosion of a reactor at Sahiti Pharma, pharmaceutical industry in the same Atchutapuram SEZ, when the workers were evacuating chemicals from it.