Pharmaceutical Plant Explosion Kills 4

Four people were killed and 16 others injured due to an explosion in a chemical reactor at a pharmaceutical company's plant in Sangareddy district of Telangana, India, on Wednesday. Police and fire department officials said that among the deceased is the firm's director.

The blast occurred around 5 p.m. at the factory of SB Organics Ltd. and it led to a fire.

The deceased include the pharmaceutical company's director and three workers, police said, but further details about the deceased were not immediately available.

"The reactor exploded at the pharma company and people around it were thrown away in its impact...Four people have died," a senior police official told Press Trust of India.

The 16 others who suffered injuries in the incident were sent to various hospitals for treatment. The condition of two persons among the injured is critical and they have been referred to a hospital in Hyderabad, the officials said.

The fire, which spread through the pharma unit's premises, was subsequently brought under control, the officials said.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation.