Top News

Telangana chemical plant blast kills 12; PM Modi announces Rs 2L ex-gratia

Siasat | July 1, 2025 8:39 PM CST

Hyderabad: A reactor blast at Sigachi Chemicals in Hyderabad’s Pasamailaram industrial zone, Patancheru, triggered a massive fire on Monday, June 30, claiming at least 12 lives and injuring over 20 workers.

About 90 people were working in the plant when the blast took place, reportedly due to a suspected chemical reaction, which also triggered a fire, state health minister Damodara Raja Narasimha told reporters.

Rescue after a fire accident in Hyderabad

The explosion triggered a huge fire, which engulfed the premises of Sigachi Chemicals. Firefighters rushed to the spot to douse the fire. Eleven fire engines were pressed into service to control the fire.

Police, fire services and other personnel launched rescue and relief operations. Ambulances were also seen at the spot to shift the injured to hospitals.

The injured were admitted to government and private hospitals. The condition of some of the injured is stated to be critical.

According to witnesses, such was the impact of the explosion that workers were tossed in the air and fell several meters away. The manufacturing unit in the factory collapsed under the impact of the blast, while fire spread to the adjoining building within the factory premises.

Several workers were working near the reactor when it exploded. Migrant workers from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and other states were employed in the industrial unit.

Fire accident in Hyderabad

The cause of the mishap would be known after examination by the technical experts, Narasimha, who visited the accident site along with state labour minister G Vivek Venkatswamy, told reporters.

Venkatswamy said 12 of the 34 injured people were critical and put on ventilator support in the hospitals. The respiratory system of these victims is under stress due to the burn injuries, he said.

The government is hopeful that the remaining 22 people will recover soon, he added.

Y Nagi Reddy, Director General of the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services, said it was suspected that the blast occurred in the drying unit of the plant. However, Inspector General of Police (Multizone) V Satyanarayana told reporters that it was a case of reactor explosion.

“Industrial experts are saying that during the drying process, or a handling process, the pressure could have built up, followed by the blasting of the material that led to the blasting of the entire building,” Reddy told reporters.

Earthmovers remove debris

The rescue workers were also using earthmovers to remove the debris of the demolished structure, as there are apprehensions that some workers may be trapped under it.