Reactor Blast Kills Two, Injures Nine At Telangana Pharma Unit

A reactor blast triggered a fire at a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit at Dothigudem in Pochampally mandal of Yadadri-Bhongir district late on Friday night, killing two workers and injuring nine others.

The deceased were identified as Chennu Nagi Reddy, 31, and Naganaboina Naresh Kumar, 29. Fire services received a Dial 100 call at 10:27 p.m., and fire engines from Choutuppal, Bhongir, and Hayathnagar fire stations were rushed to the premises. Firefighting and rescue operations continued for several hours, with the last fire service vehicle leaving around 4 a.m. Nine injured workers were rescued and shifted to two private hospitals.

Five were taken to one hospital, and four to another. Two of the injured suffered more than 50 percent burns, while seven sustained minor injuries. The facility, Hazelo Lab, is a one-storeyed building involved in the manufacture of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and bulk drug intermediates. It is located approximately 50 km from Hyderabad. Yadadri-Bhongir District Fire Officer Madhusudan stated the cause of the fire is under investigation.