 "The blast, which triggered the collapse of a three-storey building at Sigachi Industries Limited in the Pashamylaram industrial area, has become one of the worst industrial accidents the state has seen in recent years. PTI")
A powerful explosion tore through a pharmaceutical factory in Telangana’s Sangareddy district on Monday morning, leaving at least 42 people dead and many others injured.
The blast, which triggered the collapse of a three-storey building at Sigachi Industries Limited in the Pashamylaram industrial area, around 50 km from Hyderabad, has become one of the worst industrial accidents the state has seen in recent years.
Rescue teams are still combing through the debris, and officials fear the death toll may rise further as more bodies are recovered from the rubble.
As the investigation begins, the Telangana government has appointed a committee to look into what caused the deadly blast and whether safety lapses were involved.
Here’s what we know so far.
What triggered the deadly blast at the Telangana chemical factory?
Preliminary investigations suggest that a sudden pressure build-up inside a spray-drying unit may have caused the massive explosion at the Sigachi Industries factory.
Y Nagi Reddy, Director General of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), told The News Minute that the blast occurred in the factory’s Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) drying unit.
MCC is a refined, partially broken-down form of cellulose derived from fibrous plant material like wood pulp. It’s widely used in the pharmaceutical industry as a key excipient in tablets and supplements. It also finds use as a bulking agent in food production.
The spray dryer, where the explosion reportedly happened, is a machine that converts a liquid or slurry into a dry powder by spraying it into a stream of hot gas. Since this process generates extremely high temperatures, a blow air handler is used to control the heat and airflow within the system.
The impact was so severe that the entire three-storey building came crashing down in seconds.
Sigachi Industries Ltd (SIL), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of Microcrystalline Cellulose, operates three facilities across Telangana and Gujarat. The Pashamylaram unit, where the explosion occurred, has been operational for nearly 40 years. Spread over four acres, it houses four separate production blocks.
However, experts believe the blow air handler may not have been properly cleaned or maintained, leading to a dangerous rise in temperature. According to a report by IANS, officials say this overheating may have pushed temperatures as high as 700 to 800 degrees Celsius, far beyond safe limits, causing the explosion.
This tragedy is not isolated.
In the past 30 months, Telangana has seen at least 10 major blasts in industrial areas like Pashamylaram and Patancheru. Poor maintenance and a shortage of skilled operators are said to be the underlying reasons.
In December, this very Sigachi plant cleared a safety check by the factory’s department. But after Monday’s blast, it has been shut down indefinitely.
‘Blast so intense, workers fell down 100 m away’
Eyewitnesses described the sheer force of the explosion as terrifying. Many workers were thrown off their feet, some hurled far from the blast site.
“Workers were tossed into the air and thrown several metres away,” people at the scene told South First. On Monday, Telangana Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha said around 90 workers were inside the unit when the explosion took place.
Quoting survivors, he said, “The explosion blew up the industrial shed completely, and the force of the blast was so intense that some of the workers were thrown up in the air and landed about 100 metres away.”
Hospitals in the area were quickly overwhelmed. A senior official at Pranaam Hospitals in Miyapur confirmed they had received 21 patients on Monday. Most had severe burns and head injuries. “Two were declared brought dead, and one more succumbed this morning,” the official said.
Dhruva Hospitals in Patancheru also received 11 patients. Of the nine currently admitted, five are on ventilator support. “We have seven patients with burns ranging from 40 to 80 per cent, and two others with 10 per cent burns,” a hospital official told PTI. Two of the most critical cases have been referred to super-speciality hospitals for advanced care.
The intensity of the blast left some bodies badly mutilated or burned beyond recognition. Authorities have now begun conducting DNA tests to help identify the deceased.
As of Tuesday, rescue operations were continuing at the site, led by teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), HYDRAA, and the Telangana Fire and Disaster Response Department.
PM Modi announces ex gratia, probe ordered
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss. He announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Union Minister and Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy said, “NDRF, Police and other agencies are engaged in relief operations…Central financial assistance of Rs 2 lakhs each will be given to families of the deceased persons and Rs 50,000 to the injured.”
He added, “The BJP never does politics on such issues. We will fully cooperate in relief activities…The state government should take all steps to prevent such accidents.”
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed deep sorrow over the latest incident and directed authorities to “take all necessary steps to rescue any workers still trapped.”
The state government has constituted a five-member committee to investigate the cause of the explosion and recommend safety measures.
With input from agencies