Death toll in chemical reactor blast at pharmaceutical company in Telangana’s Sangareddy rises to 6

Those killed in the blast have been identified as Devulapally Ravi Varma, MD and plant in charge of the company, and other employees P Subramanyam from Andhra Pradesh, Dayanand from Tamil Nadu, and Suresh Pal from Madya Pradesh. While Vishnu from Chandapur village, Hathnoora mandal, died at NIMS Hospital, Ramesh, a helper, was killed on the spot and his body was identified on Thursday morning.

“Six people have died. We have not identified the exact cause of the accident. It could be due to chemical imbalances. We will have forensic teams investigate the site for further clarity,” C H Rupesh, Superintendent of Police, told indianexpress.com on Thursday.

Based on a complaint alleging negligence on the part of the management, the police Hathnoora police station charged the management of S B Organics under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and started an investigation. Overheating of the chemical reactor is suspected to be the cause of the blast.

V Srinivas, District Fire Officer, said the bodies of four people killed in the blast were retrieved on Wednesday evening. As many as 17 people are in the hospital and one among them is said to be critical.

“We believe it is an explosion of the boiler that led to the fire and not vice versa. Due to chemical leak and fire the building has collapsed. Otherwise, the fire was contained and the operation was over by 9 pm. We got a call at 4.40 pm and we pressed four fire tender vehicles immediately. Two more vehicles were deployed by industry,” Srinivas told indianexpress.com.

All six workers who were killed were present near the reactor during the blast, he added.