The southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh ended rescue efforts on Thursday at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant where an explosion killed 17 people and injured nearly 40 the day before, a senior official said.
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Rescue efforts at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant where an explosion killed 17 people and injured nearly 40 the day before ended on Thursday, a senior official in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh said.
Wednesday's explosion, which occurred at the 40-acre (16-hectare) unit of private Escientia Advanced Sciences in Anacapalli district, was the state's worst such incident in recent years.
Industry Minister N. Yuvaraj officials told Reuters that nearly 40 people were injured and rescue operations had been completed.
Escientia did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but government officials said they suspected an explosion in the chemical reactor.
Officials said they were scanning CCTV footage and interviewing the injured to determine whether the explosion was caused by human error.
“Preliminary investigation revealed… that there was some vapor leakage, which caused a chemical reaction that triggered the explosion,” Yuvraj added. He confirmed that the solvent involved was methyl tert-butyl ether.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X to express his condolences to the family of the deceased.
India is known as the pharmacy of the world and has many pharmaceutical factories.
Last year, a fire broke out at a unit of Sahithi Pharma in the same area, killing two people and injuring five others.