Post by : Meena Ariff

Photo: Reuters

At least 34 people have died after a big fire broke out at a medicines factory in Telangana, a state in southern India. The fire started with a blast on Monday while people were working at the factory, which belongs to Sigachi Industries.

A senior police officer, Paritosh Pankaj, said that 31 bodies were taken out from the debris, and three other people died in the hospital during treatment. Many others are badly hurt and are being treated in hospitals nearby.

Police have filed a case against the factory management after the son of one of the victims made a complaint. The company has stopped work at the factory for 90 days because many machines and parts of the building were damaged in the blast.

In their statement, Sigachi Industries said they were very sorry that people had died and been injured. They are checking how many workers were hurt in the incident.

At the time of the blast, around 60 people were working inside the building. Because of the explosion, the entire building collapsed. Many of the workers were migrants from states like Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The factory made microcrystalline cellulose, a powder used to make tablets in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries.

A rescue official said that the explosion might have happened because pressure built up while workers were using a spray dryer. Also, the fine chemical dust in the air made the fire worse.

About 25 people were rushed to hospitals with burns and injuries. Some workers also breathed in poisonous smoke. Rescue teams are still removing debris from the site to check if anyone else is trapped. Officials said they will only know the exact number of dead after clearing all the debris. They are using DNA tests to identify bodies that were burned beyond recognition.

The government of Telangana said it is deeply shocked by this accident and will give compensation to the families of people who died or were injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent his condolences. He announced that the family of each person who died will get Rs 2 lakh as compensation, and those injured will get Rs 50,000.