At least 41 dead in 2 separate blasts at pharma firm, fireworks plant in India
At least 41 people have died in two separate explosions in southern India, at a pharmaceutical plant and firework factory, officials said Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
The death toll from a fire which broke out due to a suspected explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in the Telangana state rose to 36, according to a senior fire official.
The incident took place at a unit of Sigachi Industries in the Sangareddy district of Telangana.
“36 bodies have been recovered from the debris,” Nageswara Rao, a fire department official said.
The fire caused part of a building to collapse, trapping workers under the debris.
The state government has put together a high-powered committee to "review and investigate the mishap and its underlying causes."
"A panel has been tasked with submitting recommendations on preventing such accidents in the future," said a Monday night statement by the chief minister's office.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said he was “anguished” by the loss of lives. He also announced compensation for the relatives of the deceased and the injured.
In a separate incident, at least five people died in an explosion in a firework factory in the southern Tamil Nadu state.
A fire official in the state's Virudhunagar district told Anadolu that five workers were killed in the blast at a firecracker factory in the Sivakasi area.
As reported previously, a total of 12 forest and steppe wildfires across Mongolia have been fully extinguished over the past five days.
