Two workers were killed after an iron girder fell on them in the Parry Sugars Refinery factory near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, August 29. The workers were crushed under the girder which fell on them from a height, and two more workers were injured. This was the second accident at the factory, located in the Vakalapudi industrial area on the outskirts of Kakinada, in 10 days. Earlier on August 19, two persons were killed and nine were injured in a blast at the same factory. Kakinada district Collector Krithika Shukla, who visited the factory on Monday, said that the refinery has been ordered to shut down temporarily. The workers who died in the girder accident were identified as Ragam Prasad (37) and Peruri Subrahmanyam (33). 

Following the fatal accident on Monday, relatives of the deceased and other workers staged a protest near the refinery alleging safety lapses and negligence on the management’s part. Relatives alleged that although the incident happened around noon, the families of the deceased were only informed by the management around 2 pm. After the blast on August 19 too, workers had alleged negligence in safety procedures and supervision at the refinery, and staged a protest demanding compensation for the victims’ families. The August 19 blast took place reportedly due to a short circuit when the workers were trying to give power connection to a conveyor belt while loading sugar bags. The deceased in this earlier mishap were identified as Veeramalla Rajeswara Rao and RV Venkata Satyanarayana.

Explaining how the accident on Monday occurred, Kakinada Additional Superintendent of Police Srinivas told reporters that the accident happened due to a cylinder that creates a vacuum. “Either due to excess vacuum or a reduction in the cylinder’s thickness, or operational problems, the cylinder sank in and a nearby platform fell on the cylinder. Meanwhile, a girder of the platform fell from above and two workers were killed. The cylinder is on the fourth stair, they work on the first stair. A case has been booked and further investigation is on,” he said. 

Speaking to the media, Collector Krithika Shukla said, “This is the second accident at Parry Sugars in 10 days. The first accident happened at the warehouse, and that has already been seized. A high power committee was set up and its report (on the previous incident) has been submitted. The second incident happened in the control panel area. Due to excess vacuum and procedural lapses, a girder crashed and two workers were killed. A safety audit is underway, and a closure order has been given. The factory will be shut down. Another high power committee has been formed (over the latest incident), and if its report finds lapses, strict action will be taken.”