Eluru chemical factory blaze claims 6 lives

Eluru: At least six workers were charred to death and 12 others grievously injured when a reactor in a chemical factory at Akkireddigudem village in the new Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh, blew up and caused a fire in the wee hours of Thursday.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who reviewed the incident, announced Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to the kin of the deceased. Also, the factory management too would pay an equal amount. He also announced Rs 5 lakh each to the seriously injured workers and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured. The injured have been shifted to private hospital for better treatment. Among the six deceased workers, four belong to Bihar and two are from Andhra Pradesh.

The deceased are Udurupathi Krishnaiah (34) of Reddigudem mandal in NTR district, B Kiran Kumar (42) of Akkireddygudem Village in Musunuru Mandal of Eluru district, and Kaaru Ravi Das (40), Manoj Kumar (25), Suvaas Ravi Das (32) and Habdas Ravi Das (27), all from Nalanda district in Bihar.

Eluru District Collector V Prasanna Venkatesh, who visited the accident spot, ordered immediate shutdown of the Porus Laboratories unit pending a detailed investigation. "We are investigating what led to the accident. Did high pressure cause the reactor to blow up, whether hazardous chemicals were being used…we will probe all such aspects. We are also investigating if any rules were violated in the operation of the plant," Venkatesh told reporters. The Chief Secretary directed the Collector to conduct a thorough inquiry into the mishap and submit a report.

The State Disaster Response and Fire Services personnel, as well as NDRF men, carried out the rescue and relief operations. The fire was doused in a couple of hours and the situation remained normal.Residents of Akkireddigudem staged a protest outside the plant, demanding that it be relocated from the village forthwith. The villagers alleged that the plant caused water and air pollution, making their life miserable.

"Even crops are not growing properly because of the pollution and we have been demanding for long that the plant be shifted from here," the protesting villagers said.

More than 50 workers were at work in the night shift on Wednesday when the mishap occurred in unit-4. Of the 12 injured, some of whom had sustained 80 per cent burns, were rushed to the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada, a senior police official said.

Nuzividu MLA Meka Pratap Appa Rao, who visited the Porus unit, said it was an accident.

Hyderabad-based Porus Laboratories, which is into manufacturing of pharmaceutical intermediates and specialty chemicals, has five units in different locations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.