Latest news with #DamodarRajaNarasimha
Hans India
02-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
40 died, 33 injured in Pashamylaram blast: Sigachi Industries
Hyderabad: Sigachi Industries said on Wednesday that the explosion at its facility at Pashamylaram in Sangareddy district resulted in the death of 40 people and left 33 injured. The company issued a brief statement, the first since the blast rocked the facility at Pashamyalaram industrial area in Sangareddy district on Monday. 'It is with anguish that we share details of the accident that occurred at the Sigachi Industries facility in Pashamylaram, Telangana, resulting in the loss of 40 valued team members and one that left over 33 injured,' it said in the statement. 'Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic accident. Since the time of the accident, we have been coordinating the emergency response, family support, and extending cooperation with the investigation and compliance efforts,' it added. Sigachi Industries also stated that it is committed to an ex gratia compensation of Rs one crore to the families of the deceased, while those injured will receive full medical and rehabilitation support. 'As we await the results of the investigation, we would like to clarify that the accident was not caused by a reactor explosion at the plant, as mentioned in sections of the media. We will continue to send updates as we receive information from the investigations,' it said. The company also announced that the plant operations will remain temporarily suspended for approximately 90 days. Meanwhile, state Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha on Wednesday visited the accident site where the rescue operation continued for the third day. He stated that the condition of the injured undergoing treatment at various hospitals is stable. The minister said 11 people were still missing, and the rescue teams continued clearing the debris.
Hans India
02-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Telangana factory blast: 40 killed, 33 injured, says Sigachi Industries
Hyderabad: Sigachi Industries said on Wednesday that the blast at its facility at Pashamylaram in Telangana resulted in the death of 40 people and left 33 injured. The company issued a brief statement, the first since the blast rocked the facility at Pashamyalaram industrial area in Sangareddy district near Hyderabad on Monday. 'It is with anguish that we share details of the accident that occurred at the Sigachi Industries facility in Pashamylaram, Telangana, resulting in the loss of 40 valued team members and one that left over 33 injured,' it said. 'Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic accident. Since the time of the accident, we have been coordinating the emergency response, family support, and extending cooperation with the investigation and compliance efforts,' reads the statement. Sigachi Industries also stated that it is committed to an ex gratia compensation of Rs one crore to the families of the deceased, while those injured will receive full medical and rehabilitation support. 'As we await the results of the investigation, we would like to clarify that the accident was not caused by a reactor explosion at the plant, as mentioned in sections of the media. We will continue to send updates as we receive information from the investigations,' it said. The company also announced that the plant operations will remain temporarily suspended for approximately 90 days. Meanwhile, state Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha on Wednesday visited the accident site where the rescue operation continued for the third day. He stated that the condition of the injured undergoing treatment at various hospitals is stable. The minister said 11 people were still missing, and the rescue teams continued clearing the debris. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud and AICC in-charge for Telangana Meenakshi Natrjan also visited the accident site and called on the injured at a hospital.
Yomiuri Shimbun
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Explosion at Pharmaceutical Factory in South India Kills at Least 36
At least 36 people were killed and dozens more injured in an explosion at a pharmaceutical factory in the southern Indian state of Telangana, state authorities said. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to search the site following Monday's blast. Dozens of people remain missing. The blast occurred around 9 a.m. local time Monday at a plant in Pashamylaram, some 30 miles west of Hyderabad, the state capital. According to reports by local outlets, the explosion flattened a four-story building and threw workers hundreds of feet. More than 140 people were on-site when the explosion occurred, officials told reporters. The bodies were 'badly burnt and mutilated,' Telangana Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha told the Associated Press, and DNA tests were necessary to identify remains. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. Photos from the scene show rubble heaped stories high. The Telangana state government and Sigachi Industries, the operator of the factory, are set to pay 10 million rupees, around $117,000, to family members of each of the deceased, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said in televised remarks. Injured workers are also set to receive compensation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on X and pledged an additional 200,000 rupees, around $2,300, to the families of the deceased. The Pashamylaram plant is one of Sigachi's three manufacturing units, according to company documentation. India is the third-largest pharmaceutical industry in the world by volume and the leading supplier of generic medicines and vaccines. Labor and human rights watchdogs have warned of inadequate safety measures and lax oversight in some Indian factories. In a 2020 report on human rights in India, the U.S. State Department found that health and safety inspection capacity was insufficient and enforcement often poor. Global union federation InustriALL said that some 235 workers died across 116 industrial accidents in India between May 2020 and June 2021, according to media accounts and reports by the group's affiliates. The Pashamylaram blast came after a series of industrial accidents in the country. An August explosion at a chemical plant in Atchutapuram, in the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh, left 17 workers dead. In May 2024, two unrelated explosions at chemical factories in Mumbai and the eastern state of Chhattisgarh killed at least 11, according to news items published by Britain's Royal Society of Chemistry. The 1984 Bhopal disaster, the world's worst industrial accident, occurred when a leak at a pesticide plant exposed hundreds of thousands of people in the central Indian city of Bhopal to a highly toxic gas and left a death toll in the thousands.
Washington Post
01-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Explosion at pharmaceutical factory in south India kills at least 36
At least 36 people were killed and dozens more injured in an explosion at a pharmaceutical factory in the southern Indian state of Telangana, state authorities said. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to search the site following Monday's blast. Dozens of people remain missing. The blast occurred around 9 a.m. local time Monday at a plant in Pashamylaram, some 30 miles west of Hyderabad, the state capital. According to reports by local outlets, the explosion flattened a 4-story building and threw workers hundreds of feet. More than 140 people were on-site when the explosion occurred, officials told reporters. The bodies were 'badly burnt and mutilated,' Telangana Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha told the AP, and DNA tests were necessary to identify remains. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. Photos from the scene show rubble heaped stories high. The Telangana state government and Sigachi Industries, the operator of the factory, are set to pay 10 million rupees, around $117,000, to family members of each of the deceased, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said in televised remarks. Injured workers are also set to receive compensation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on X and pledged an additional 200,000 rupees, around $2,300, to the families of the deceased. The Pashamylaram plant is one of Sigachi's three manufacturing units, according to company documentation. India is the third-largest pharmaceutical industry in the world by volume and the leading supplier of generic medicines and vaccines. Labor and human rights watchdogs have warned of inadequate safety measures and lax oversight in some Indian factories. In a 2020 report on human rights in India, the U.S. State Department found that health and safety inspection capacity was insufficient and enforcement often poor. Global union federation InustriALL said that some 235 workers died across 116 industrial accidents in India between May 2020 and June 2021, according to media accounts and reports by the group's affiliates. The Pashamylaram blast came after a series of industrial accidents in the country. An August explosion at a chemical plant in Atchutapuram, in the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh, left 17 workers dead. In May 2024, two unrelated explosions at chemical factories in Mumbai and the eastern state of Chhattisgarh killed at least 11, according to news items published by Britain's Royal Society of Chemistry. The 1984 Bhopal disaster, the world's worst industrial accident, occurred when a leak at a pesticide plant exposed hundreds of thousands of people in the central Indian city of Bhopal to a highly toxic gas and left a death toll in the thousands.
Al Jazeera
01-07-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Death toll rises to 36 after India pharmaceutical factory blast, fire
At least 36 people have been confirmed dead after a powerful explosion triggered a fire at a pharmaceutical factory in the southern Indian state of Telangana. 'The condition of the bodies is such that we've had to deploy a specialised medical team to carry out DNA tests,' said Health and Medical Cabinet Minister of Telangana Damodar Raja Narasimha on Tuesday. A government panel has been formed to investigate the cause of the disaster. The blast, which erupted on Monday afternoon at a facility run by Sigachi Industries, took place in the plant's spray dryer unit – a section used to convert raw materials into powder for drug manufacturing. The factory is located roughly 50km (31 miles) from Hyderabad, the state capital. Authorities recovered 34 bodies from the debris, while two more workers succumbed to injuries in hospital, according to Telangana's fire services director, GV Narayana Rao. 'The entire structure has collapsed. The fire is under control and we're continuing to clear the rubble in case more people are trapped,' he told the Associated Press news agency. Twenty-five of the deceased are yet to be identified, a district administrative official, P Pravinya, said. About 36 workers remain in hospital with burns and other injuries. Police officials said that more than 140 people were working in the plant when the incident occurred. Local residents reported hearing the blast from several kilometres away. The incident has raised new concerns about industrial safety in India's booming pharmaceutical sector. Despite the country's reputation as a global supplier of low-cost medicines and vaccines, fatal accidents at drug manufacturing units are not rare, particularly in facilities handling chemicals or solvents. Sigachi Industries, which has its headquarters in India, produces active pharmaceutical ingredients and nutrient blends, and operates manufacturing plants across the country. It also runs subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates and the United States, according to its website. Officials say rescue and recovery efforts will continue until the entire site has been cleared. The factory's operations have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
