The death toll rose to 17 on Thursday following a reactor blast at a pharma company in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Atchutapuram in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli.
Anakapalli District Collector Vijaya Krishnan confirmed the fatalities on Thursday.
The incident occurred after a 500-kiloliter capacitor reactor exploded at the pharma company, where approximately 200 workers were present at the time.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. The Chief Minister is expected to visit the families of the deceased and injured on Thursday.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and stated that he was “pained†by the loss of lives in the mishap. The Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, according to the PMO.
“Pained by the loss of lives due to a mishap at a factory in Anakapalle. Condolences to those who lost their near and dear ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakhs from PMNRF will be given to the next of kin of each deceased, and the injured will receive Rs 50,000,†the PMO mentioned in a post on X.
