Two employees were killed and four others were injured in a blast at a pharmaceutical company in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district on Thursday afternoon, the police said. The incident took place at Tyche Industries, located in Auto Nagar area of Sarpavaram on the suburbs of Kakinada, the district headquarters.
The deceased have been identified as Kakarla Subrahmanyam (31) and Thotakura Venkataramana (37). Both of them were working as supervisors.
The injured include Kudupudi Srinivasa Rao (49), Nammi Simhadri Rao (31), Kalagaa Satya Sai Babu (55) and Regali Rajkumar (35). Srinivasa Rao, Simhadri Rao and Rajkumar are operators while Babu is an assistant production manager at the company. All the injured are being treated at a hospital in Madhavapatnam.
The police said that a preliminary probe into the accident showed that it happened as the workers were trying to tighten the valve of a pipeline that carries a chemical substance to the boiler.
A technical glitch led to a fluctuation in pressure, resulting in the explosion and eruption of fire in the factory.
State Minister for Agriculture K Kannababu visited the factory and took stock of the situation. “We will definitely assist the deceased families. The matter has been taken to the Industries Minister and it is decided to carry an audit in all the old pharma industries by a committee," he said.
The committee will consist of revenue, police, disaster management and pollution control board officials.
According to locals, more casualties were prevented as fire safety measures were enforced immediately.
State Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy expressed sadness over the loss of life in the accident and also asked the officials to ascertain the reason.
He instructed officials to provide better treatment for the injured workers.
Considering the forthcoming summer season and high temperatures, Reddy directed officials to take protective measures in all industries, chemical plants and especially pharmaceutical companies.
The minister warned that he would not tolerate any harm caused to the workers and locals by companies' lapses.
(With IANS inputs)