36 dead in Telangana pharma plant blast, bodies were pulled out of debris

The death toll due to a reactor explosion at a chemical manufacturing plant in Telangana's Sangareddy district rose to 35. Rescue is ongoing, and a government inquiry has been ordered.

In Short

• 36 confirmed dead after reactor blast in pharmaceutical plant
• Revanth Reddy announces Rs 1 crore for deceased, Rs 10 lakh for injured
• Sigachi Industries halts operations for 90 days citing site damage

The death toll in Monday’s explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Telangana’s Sangareddy district has risen to 36, as rescue workers continue to clear the debris from the devastated site.

District Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj confirmed on Tuesday the number of people killed in the explosion at Sigachi Industries pharma plant in Pashamylaram. “Several bodies have been found under the debris while removing it. As many as 31 bodies have been extricated from the debris while three died in hospital while undergoing treatment. The last leg of the rescue operation is still going on,” he told news agency PTI.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, along with a few of his cabinet members, visited the blast site. Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha confirmed Revanth Reddy’s visit and said the state government had mobilised all necessary resources.

Following his visit, Revanth Reddy addressed the media. “This is a very unfortunate incident. Our ministers spoke to the management, coordinated with government officials and the rescue team yesterday,” he said, confirming that many of the deceased were from neighbouring states of Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

According to the Chief Minister, there were 143 people present at the time of the incident.

He also announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased, Rs 10 lakh for those with severe injuries and Rs 5 lakh for those who suffered minor injuries. He said the decision was taken after speaking with the factory management and government officials.

The explosion, suspected to have been triggered by a chemical reaction inside a reactor, occurred between 8:15 am and 9:35 am on Monday, June 30. The resulting blast flattened the industrial shed, threw workers several feet, and sparked a massive fire that required a large-scale emergency response.

Pranaam Hospitals in Miyapur received 21 patients on Monday with burns and head injuries; two were brought dead and one died the next morning, a senior official said. Dhruva Hospitals in Patancheru admitted 11 patients, of whom two were referred to superspeciality hospitals. Of the remaining nine, five are on ventilators. Seven have 40–80% burns, and two have 10% burns, the official told PTI.

A revenue department official said the identities of only nine bodies have been confirmed so far. The rest will require DNA profiling. Most of the deceased were from Odisha, West Bengal, and Bihar.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDF), local fire personnel, and police were deployed for rescue and firefighting operations. Two fire-fighting robots were also used during the efforts.

Sigachi Industries Limited, meanwhile, has temporarily suspended operations at the Sangareddy plant for 90 days, citing extensive damage to its manufacturing infrastructure. The company, according to its website, manufactures Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), intermediates, excipients, and provides operations and management services.

The state government has constituted a five-member committee to investigate the cause of the explosion and recommend safety measures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences and announced ex-gratia assistance for the victims' families.

This tragedy has once again raised concerns over industrial safety standards in the Sangareddy-Pashamylaram corridor, which has seen fatal industrial accidents in the past.

- Ends