Pharma reactor blast kills 12

Anakapalli : It was lunch hour like any other day at Escientia Advanced Sciences Pvt Ltd at Atchutapuram SEZ in Anakapalli district. Around 2.15 pm as the workers were settling down for lunch on Wednesday there was a massive blast and before they could realise what was happening around them the entire area reverberated with screams of the workers and several got injured. Two persons lost their lives on the spot.T hough no official figure has been released by the authorities, it is being learnt that over 12 people, including the AGM of the plant V Sanyasi Naidu (50) had died and the number of casualties could further go up.

Following the blast, a thick smoke emanated from the incident spot engulfing the surrounding areas. Fire tenders found it difficult to douse the fire and control the smoke. A slab fell off due to the impact of the reactor blast. Nearly 381 employees work in the company in two different shifts. Over 50 are said to have been injured though no official figures have been released yet. NDRF teams with the help of heavy cranes were pressed into service to remove the debris and take up rescue operations. They also rescued people stuck on the third floor of the factory.

The accident victims were shifted to three different hospitals for treatment, including 13 workers to Pawan Sai Hospital, Atchutapuram, 11 victims to NTR Hospital and nine persons to Usha Prime Hospital in Anakapalli district. Six fire tenders were pressed into service and additional fire equipment was mobilised from neighbouring fire stations to bring the situation under control.

Escientia, which manufactures intermediate chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, started production in 2019 with an investment of Rs 200 crore. The campus is spread over 40 acres situated in APIIC multi-product SEZ, Atchutapuram cluster, Anakapalli district.

Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha and Anakapalli MP CM Ramesh instructed the officials to provide quality treatment to the victims. District Collector Vijaya Krishnan and Anakapalli Superintendent of Police Deepika M Patil reached SEZ and monitored the situation.