Death toll rises to 36 after explosion at a pharmaceutical factory in
southern India
[July 01, 2025]
By OMER FAROOQ and RAJESH ROY
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — The death toll from Monday's massive explosion
and fire at a pharmaceutical factory in India’s southern state of
Telangana has risen to at least 36 while about three dozen were left
injured, authorities said Tuesday.
The fire department recovered the charred bodies of 34 workers from the
accident site in an industrial area about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from
the state capital Hyderabad, the state’s fire services director G.V.
Narayana Rao told The Associated Press.
Two other workers succumbed to burns and were pronounced dead in
hospital, Rao said, adding that debris of the gutted pharmaceutical unit
of Sigachi Industries was still being removed to find out if any more
workers were trapped.
Nearly three dozen injured workers were admitted to hospitals, he said.
“The whole structure of the factory has collapsed. Fire has been doused,
and we hope to finish removing the debris in the next few hours,” Rao
said.
Sigachi Industries did not disclose what led to the explosion and fire,
but said the plant's core manufacturing infrastructure was damaged and
facility operations would be halted for 90 days. The plant produces
microcrystalline cellulose, a chemical compound commonly used in making
drugs, the company said.
The explosion and subsequent fire was reported on Monday in the
factory’s spray dryer unit, which is used to process raw material into
fine powder for making drugs, Rao said.
The state’s Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha said there were 108
workers inside the factory at the time of the explosion.
“As bodies were badly burnt and mutilated, a special medical team has
been deployed to conduct DNA tests”, said Narasimha, adding the state
government has set up a panel to investigate the cause of the incident.
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Rescue workers look for survivors after at an explosion and a fire
at a pharmaceutical factory in an industrial area in Sangareddy,
some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Hyderabad, India, Monday, June
30, 2025. (AP Photo)
Witnesses said they heard the explosion from a couple of kilometers
away from the site.
India is home to some of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies,
playing a pivotal role in the global supply of generic medicines and
vaccines. The country’s robust manufacturing and cost-effective
production have made it a hub for pharma giants.
Industrial accidents, particularly involving chemical reactors,
aren’t uncommon in such factories, underlining the need for
authorities to implement stringent safety protocols and regulatory
oversight in a sector critical to public health.
Sigachi Industries Limited is an Indian company dealing with active
pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates and vitamin-mineral
blends, according to the company’s website. It has five
manufacturing facilities across India and subsidiaries in the U.S
and the United Arab Emirates.
Shares of Sigachi Industries tumbled 8% in intra-day trading
Tuesday, extending the previous session’s plunge of nearly 10%.
In a disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday, the company
called the incident “unfortunate” and announced that a thorough site
assessment was underway. The factory where the fire occurred
contributes a little more than a fourth of the company’s annual
capacity.
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