Explosion at Indian Pharmaceutical Factory Kills 36

New York Times

a day ago

At least 36 people were killed and another three dozen seriously injured, officials said Tuesday, after a large explosion at a pharmaceutical factory set off a fire in the southern Indian state of Telangana.
A day after the explosion, which occurred on Monday, firefighters had quenched the fire and were sifting through the burned wreckage of the plant at an industrial park about 30 miles from the state capital, Hyderabad, according to G.V. Narayana Rao, the state's fire services director.
Emergency workers toured a scene of twisted metal and charred concrete as excavators worked their way between heaping piles of wires, pipes and other debris.
Many of the injured were hospitalized with burns or suffering from smoke inhalation, but Mr. Rao said the death toll was not expected to rise.
India is the world's largest manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, and industrial accidents at drug factories are common. However, Mr. Rao said, the death toll from Monday's incident is the largest from a fire in the state in more than 25 years.
The plant, in Sangareddy, is owned by Sigachi Industries. It was manufacturing microcrystalline cellulose, a substance used in the production of medical capsules.
While it remains unclear what caused the fire, Mr. Rao said initial clues pointed to a pressure buildup in a dryer system that may have resulted in a 'dust explosion.' In an post on social media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India wrote he was 'anguished by the loss of lives' and pledged 200,000 rupees, about $2,335, through his National Relief Fund to each of the deceased victims' next of kin.