A big explosion last week triggered a fire at a pharmaceutical plant in southern India, killing at least 18 workers.
The death toll rose from 15 as three of the 40 injured in the fire on 21 August in the chemical reactor of the plant in Andhra Pradesh state died in hospital on the day after, a police officer said, adding that some of the injured were in critical condition.
The Press Trust of India news agency reported distressing scenes of several injured workers, who were transported to the hospital. As the news of the blast spread, hundreds of people from families of workers rushed to the plant to find out what happened to their loved ones.
There are approximately 380 employees who work two shifts at the plant. Many escaped because they were on lunch break when the explosion started the fire.
Officials suspect the fire was caused by an electrical fault at the plant. State authorities have ordered an investigation.
In the most extensive industrial mishap in the region, 22 people were killed when a blast occurred in the refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation in Visakhapatnam in 1997. Fires are common in India, where builders and residents often flout building laws and safety norms. Some don’t even install firefighting equipment. In 2019, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in a New Delhi factory producing handbags and other items killed 43 people.
Source: OHS Canada
