Visakhapatnam: At least 17 workers were killed and 50 others injured, several of them seriously, in a chemical reactor blast at Escientia Advanced Sciences at Atchutapuram SEZ in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district, last week.
This is the biggest industrial accident in a decade in the state. The toll could rise as bodies are feared trapped in debris, with SDRF teams searching for survivors. The plant was covered in a cloak of dense smoke, making rescue and relief difficult.
A chemical reactor is a type of container in which chemical reactions are carried out. What triggered the blast isn’t clear yet. It is suspected that a solvent that overflowed onto the floor may have come in contact with electric wires, leading to a fire and an explosion. The toll would’ve been higher had the blast not occurred during lunch break, when most workers were out.
The explosion was so powerful that bodies were torn to pieces, with body parts hurled several metres from the site. Authorities could not identify all the victims as most bodies were charred beyond recognition. They identified the dead workers only several hours later. Police said the blast occurred during lunch hour on the ground floor of the factory building. The explosion led to a major fire and thick smoke engulfed the area and nearby villages. The explosion caused the slab of the first floor to cave in, trapping several workers on the second and third floors. Rescue teams used cranes to evacuate workers.
It is not clear how many workers were on duty when the chemical reactor explosion took place. Around 400 people work in two shifts at the plant. The factory, which manufactures intermediate chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, began operations in April 2019 with an investment of £20 mn.
The state govt has ordered an inquiry and CM N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to use air ambulances to shift the injured for better treatment. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, with 13 admitted to Pavan Sai hospital, 11 to NTR Hospital, nine to Usha Prime Hospital.
