In order to determine whether or not human error caused the explosion, officials said they were reviewing closed-circuit camera footage and speaking with the injured.
According to a senior state official, rescue operations in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where an explosion the day before left 17 people dead and over 40 injured, were completed on Thursday at a pharmaceutical manufacturing factory.
The explosion on Wednesday occurred at the 40-acre (16-hectare) privately owned Escientia Advanced Sciences facility in the Anakapalli district. It was the state’s biggest event of this kind in recent memory.
Rescue efforts have concluded and about forty persons were hurt, Industries Secretary N. Yuvaraj informed Reuters.
A request for response from Escientia was not immediately answered, but government representatives stated they believed there may have been an explosion at the chemical reactor.
Yuvaraj went on, “Preliminary investigation shows… there was some vapour leak that led to chemical reactions, which caused the explosion,” identifying methyl tert-butyl ether as the solvent in question.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sympathies to the surviving family members of the deceased in a post on X.
Known as the global pharmacy, India is home to numerous plants used in the production of medications.
Two individuals were killed and five injured in a Sahithi Pharma unit fire that occurred in the same district last year.
