Indian chemical reactor explosion kills at least 12 people, several others injured | South China Morning Post

A local official said that several people were still trapped after an explosion and fire at a Sigachi Industries pharmaceutical unit in Telangana state

An explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical factory in India’s southern state of Telangana killed at least 12 people and injured several others, authorities said on Monday.

The fire department recovered the charred bodies of 10 workers in an industrial area about 50km (31 miles) from the state capital Hyderabad (31 miles), the state’s fire services director, G.V. Narayana Rao, said.

Two other workers succumbed to burns and were pronounced dead at a hospital, Rao said, adding that debris from the gutted pharmaceutical unit of Sigachi Industries was being removed to find out if any more workers were trapped. Nearly three dozen injured workers were admitted to hospitals, he said.

“It was an explosion in a spray dryer unit of the factory, which is used to process raw material into fine powder for making drugs,” Rao said.

Four people are in an “extremely critical condition”, while 10 are still stuck inside the plant, V. Satyanarayana, Inspector General of the Hyderabad region, said.

“It appears like a blast in and around the reactor unit, which led to the fire,” Satyanarayana said, adding that “there is still fire and flames near the reactor area where it appears like the accident started.”