1 Killed, 2 Injured in Chemical Plant Blast

One worker was killed and two others were injured after a reactor in a chemical factory exploded in Andhra Pradesh's Anakapalli district in India on Wednesday morning, the police said.

The incident took place at Vasant Chemicals, which manufactures products used as intermediaries in the pharmaceutical industry.

According to Atchutapuram Inspector of Police Ch Narsing Rao, the explosion took place when the workers were manufacturing of chemicals. Due to the sudden explosion, one of the workers was critically injured at the spot, while others managed to flee.

The workers alerted factory management, who then alerted the police and the fire brigade. The police rushed to the spot along with a fire tender and took up rescue operations. The fire was extinguished before it spread to other parts of the factory, Rao said.

The injured were taken to the Anakapalli government hospital, where one worker succumbed to his injuries. The others are now out of danger, said Rao, adding that the exact cause of the explosion of the reactor is yet to be ascertained.

State home minister Vangalapudi Anitha called up Anakapalli district collector Vijay Krishnan and enquired about the reactor explosion in the chemical factory and directed that the injured get better treatment.

Another incident occurred In June 2023, when six persons died in a massive explosion of a reactor at Sahiti Pharma in the same Atchutapuram special economic zone (SEZ), when the workers were evacuating chemicals from it.