Powerful vapour cloud explosion caused pharma unit accident: Andhra CM Naidu
Atchutapuram (Andhra Pradesh), August 22
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said that a powerful vapour cloud explosion caused the fire accident at a pharma unit here on August 21, leading to 17 deaths and injuring around 40 workers.
The chief minister said that the failure to follow Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) by Escientia Advanced Sciences Pvt Ltd was clear and the chemical involved in the accident was an explosive one.
According to Naidu, the explosion was so intense that it blew up several walls while workers were thrown on the walls and fences.
“A vapour cloud explosion in the pharma company caused the fire accident. It is clear that proper SoPs were not followed. If they were followed then this problem wouldn’t have arisen,” the CM said, addressing a press conference.
Observing that security standards were also not properly followed, he said injured persons suffered various degrees of burns with one worker suffering up to 54 per cent burns.
From the accident spot, the CM issued an appeal to all industrialists operating industries in the red category to take precautions and undertake immediate internal safety audits.
Industrial sectors having pollution index score of 60 and above come under red category.
Naidu called on industrialists to follow up the audits with necessary precautions.
Expressing deep sorrow over the incident, he noted that this is what happens when a company does not take proper decisions, highlighting that Escientia was a red category company.
Blaming the erstwhile YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government, Naidu alleged that 119 industrial accidents occurred between 2019 and 2014.
He also alleged that the previous government’s failure to effectively deal with the earlier incidents are leading to repeated disasters, noting that firm action is the need of the hour to put an end to these things.
Earlier, Naidu visited the injured persons at a hospital in Visakhapatnam, and announced ex-gratia of Rs one crore to the kin of deceased victims and up to Rs 50 lakh for severely injured workers.
Though financial help could be extended, he said lost family members could neither be returned nor their void filled.
Although industries are welcomed by the government and people alike to create jobs and wealth, Naidu drove home the message that safety must also be given equal importance.
“I met the injured persons of the Atchutapuram pharma company accident in a Visakhapatnam hospital and instilled confidence in them and their families. I gave the assurance to come to the rescue of victims’ families,” Naidu said in a post on ‘X’.
Promising to take the necessary precautions to avoid these kinds of accidents in the future, the CM wished for the speedy recovery of the workers undergoing treatment.
Relatives of the affected workers waited anxiously at the pharma company, eager to know the fate of their loved ones.
“I want my father back and this company removed...,” a minor girl told a vernacular news channel, referring to her father, who was employed in the firm.
The sister of a victim complained that authorities were not showing where her brother was while a sobbing elderly woman demanded the return of her son-in-law.
Harrowing scenes unfolded with injured workers—their skin ripped and peeling off, bodies soaked in blood—being shifted to hospitals in ambulances after the incident occurred at 2.15 pm on Wednesday at Escientia Advanced Sciences Pvt Ltd.
The company, which manufactures intermediate chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) commenced production in April 2019 with an investment of Rs 200 crore.
It is located on a 40-acre campus in the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation’s multi-product SEZ at the Atchutapuram cluster.
