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2 more succumb, toll in Andhra pharma fire rises to six
The incident occurred when a chemical reactor exploded while workers were in the process of evacuating chemicals from it
The death toll in the fire accident at a pharmaceutical industry in Atchutapuram special economic zone (SEZ) in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalle district has risen to six, as two more workers succumbed to their injuries on Thursday night, police said on Friday.
The incident occurred at unit-1 of Sahithi Pharma Private Limited on June 30, when a chemical reactor exploded while workers were in the process of evacuating chemicals from it.
While two of the workers – Paila Satti Babu (35) and Uppada Tirupati (30) succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at the state-run King George Hospital Visakhapatnam on the same day, five others who sustained grievous injuries were shifted to corporate hospitals, Anakapalle superintendent of police K V Murali Krishna said.
On July 4, two more workers – Rameshwar Bhuyan (45) and Sammangi Appa Rao (43) died while undergoing treatment.
On Thursday, Singamsetti Nuka Naidu (40) and Sadireddy Raja Babu (33) succumbed to burn injuries, taking the total number of deaths in the mishap to six, the SP said.
“The condition of another worker – Pilla Santosh Kumar (30) is stable. He is likely to be discharged in a day or two,” G Satyanarayana, a trade union leader in the Achyutapuram SEZ, told reporters.
Soon after the mishap, state industries minister G Amarnath announced that the state government would pay ex gratia of ₹25 lakh to each of the families of the deceased. “The company has paid an amount of ₹1 lakh to each of the families of the deceased,” Satyanarayana said.
