A catastrophe of grim proportions has struck Telangana’s Sangareddy district, where the death toll from Monday’s devastating explosion at the Sigachi Industries pharmaceutical plant in Pashamylaram has soared to 35. As rescue teams continue combing through the rubble of what once stood as an industrial facility, the true scale of destruction is becoming heartbreakingly clear.
Chemical reactions inside a reactor might have triggered the explosion which occurred between 8:15 am and 9:35 am on June 30, claimed reports.
District Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj confirmed the fatalities. “Several bodies have been found under the debris while removing it. As many as 31 bodies have been extricated from the debris while three died in hospital while undergoing treatment. The last leg of the rescue operation is still going on,” he was quoted as saying.
A police source informed a certain section of the media that one of the critically injured patients was on ventilator support.
Most of the injured had sustained burns ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent. Many of those rescued had inhaled poisonous fumes. It would take 24 to 48 hours to determine whether their respiratory systems could recover.
Such was the blast’s impact that it flattened the industrial shed and flung workers several feet.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, local firefighters and firefighting robots were sent in to douse the fire.
BJP leader and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said, “Deeply saddened to hear about the fire accident…My heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives and prayers for the speedy recovery of those injured. The government of India stands in solidarity with those affected by this incident and will provide financial assistance to the bereaved families.”
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was quoted as saying. “This is a very unfortunate incident. Our ministers spoke to the management, coordinated with government officials and the rescue team yesterday.”
He confirmed that 143 people, mostly from Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, were at the site when the explosion occurred.
The human toll is staggering. Pranaam Hospitals in Miyapur received 21 injured, many with severe burns and head trauma. A senior official reported that “two were brought dead and one died the next morning.”
Among the 11 patients admitted at Dhruva Hospitals in Patancheru, five are on ventilators, seven have sustained serious burns ranging from 40 percent to 80 percent, while two others suffered 10 percent burns.
Despite the grim numbers, identifying the dead remains a painful challenge. A revenue department official revealed that only nine of the deceased have been identified so far; the remainder will require DNA profiling. Most victims are believed to be from Odisha, West Bengal, and Bihar.
Following the incident, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy pledged financial assistance for the victims: Rs 5 lakh for those who were less seriously hurt, Rs 10 lakh for those who were badly injured, and Rs 1 crore for each family that had lost a loved one. He said that following discussions with government officials and industrial management, the compensation package was finalised.
Sigachi Industries Limited has since suspended operations at the Sangareddy facility for 90 days, citing irreparable damage to its production infrastructure. As per the company’s website, it specialises in manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), intermediates, excipients, and providing operations and management services.
The disaster occurred at the Hyderabad unit, one of the company’s three Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) manufacturing facilities. Out of the 21,700 MTPA total operating capacity, the plant generates about 6,000 MTPA; the remaining production is supplied by our other two Gujarati facilities.
Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha confirmed the Chief Minister’s visit and added that the state government had mobilised all necessary resources for rescue and relief.
A senior rescue official told a national newspaper that the blast might have been caused by pressure building up inside the spray dryer. He believed the pressure had likely increased while workers were operating the equipment.
Fine dust chemical particles may have intensified the explosion and the resulting fire, he added. He also mentioned that they had decided to clear every last inch of debris in their efforts to locate anyone who might still be trapped.
The state government has constituted a five-member committee to probe the cause of the blast and propose enhanced safety measures.
This explosion has once again turned the spotlight on the ignored industrial safety standards in the Sangareddy-Pashamylaram corridor—a region with a history of industrial accidents.
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