At least 17 workers were killed, and 35 others suffered burns in a major fire triggered by a reactor explosion at Escientia Advanced Sciences Private Ltd in the Special Economic Zone at Atchutapuram, Anakapalli, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday.
The company produces intermediate chemicals and pharmaceutical ingredients.
All 35 injured are receiving treatment at various government and private hospitals. Eighteen were admitted to Usha Prime Hospital in Anakapalle, seven are at Medicover Hospital in Visakhapatnam, and the remaining 10 are in private hospitals in Atchutapuram.
The death toll may rise as several bodies are feared trapped under the rubble of the first-floor slab of the four-story building. The blast was so powerful that severed body parts of some workers were found scattered across the company premises, with thick flames and smoke engulfing the area.
