A worker was killed and two others were injured in an explosion at a pharmaceutical company unit in the district, police said on Thursday.

The mishap occurred last evening in Hetero Drugs unit located at Nakkapalli mandal in the district when the workers were engaged in cutting of empty chemical plastic drums at its scrap yard, police sub-inspector L Ramakrishna said.

Some left over chemical solvent in the drums caught fire and caused explosion due to friction generated from the tools while the drums were being cut, he said.

The deceased worker was identified as - S Appa Rao (35).

The injured workers were admitted to a corporate hospital in the city and were reported to be out of danger, he said.

A case has been registered and investigation is on into the incident, the SI added.