Telangana chemical factory blast: 36 dead, DNA tests underway to identify burnt victims
One among the deceased succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital.
DNA profiling is underway to identify the severely burnt victims, with 15 still unaccounted for.
Records of the Sangareddy district administration show there were 143 employees at the chemical factory when the blast ripped through Sigachi's quality control unit on Monday. While 58 of them (excluding the deceased) have been traced, 34 are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.
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While families suspect some are still trapped under the rubble, officials dismissed the possibility.
'Blast may've occurred in unit drying section'
This and other recent accidents in pharma industry highlight the urgent need to address safety issues and stringently implement safety norms and training of personnel to prevent such tragedies in the future,' said Bhaskar, who retired as DG of Pharmexcil in June last year.
RK Agarwal, president, Bulk Drugs Manufacturers Association of India, said, 'This is an excipient factory that does not use any organic solvents or other hazardous chemicals.
It is a water-based industry that involves use of water at every stage except drying, so blast could have only happened in the drying section as microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is combustible and can also gain static electricity.'
Sigachi claims to be one of the largest global manufacturers of MCC, which is partially deploymerised cellulose that is extracted from fibrous plant material. The factory was manufacturing around 6,000 metric tonnes of MCC annually, which is used as an emulsifier, texturiser, binder and bulking agent by pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food and nutrition industries.
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