Hyderabad: The death toll in the blast at the pharmaceutical unit of Sigachi Industries in Pasha Mylaram has risen to 35, a senior police officer confirmed on Tuesday.
"Thirty-one bodies have been pulled out of the rubble and three others have died while undergoing treatment at a hospital," District Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj told PTI. The final phase of the rescue operation is still underway, he said. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is expected to visit the accident site on Tuesday morning.
Sources said the explosion occurred after a chemical substance caught fire in a reactor at Sigachi Pharma Company in the Pashamilaram industrial area. However, technical experts said the exact cause of the explosion would be known only after a thorough investigation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of at least eight people killed in the Telangana chemical factory blast. He said Rs 50,000 would be given to about a dozen injured.
The blast occurred between 9.28 am and 9.35 am on Monday. At that time, 150 people were working in the factory. Of them, about 90 were near the blast site, IGP V. Satyanarayana had said, quoting factory sources.
Some of the bodies of the deceased were completely burned, and DNA tests will be conducted to identify them, they said.