36 dead in Telangana pharma plant blast
The death toll in Monday’s explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Telangana’s Sangareddy district has risen to 36, as rescue workers continue to clear the debris from the devastated site.
District Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj confirmed on Tuesday the number of people killed in the explosion at Sigachi Industries pharma plant in Pashamylaram.
“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 told news agency PTI.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, along with a few of his cabinet members, visited the blast site.
Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha confirmed Revanth Reddy’s visit and said the state government had mobilised all necessary resources.
Following his visit, Revanth Reddy addressed the media. “This is a very unfortunate incident. Our ministers spoke to the management, coordinated with government officials and the rescue team yesterday,” he said, confirming that many of the deceased were from neighbouring states of Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
According to the Chief Minister, there were 143 people present at the time of the incident.
He also announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased, Rs 10 lakh for those with severe injuries and Rs 5 lakh for those who suffered minor injuries.
He said the decision was taken after speaking with the factory management and government officials.