HYDERABAD: Death toll in the explosion at Sigachi Industries’ multi-storey pharma plant in Telangana’s Pashamylaram climbed to 36 by Tuesday evening as rescue teams pulled burnt bodies from the collapsed structure. DNA profiling is underway to identify the severely burnt victims, with 15 still unaccounted for.Police charged Sigachi’s management for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, grievous hurt, and attempted murder under BNS, acting on a complaint by Rajanala Sai Yashwanth, son of a deceased worker. His father, a long-time employee, and other workers had repeatedly warned management about ageing machinery, Yashwanth said. “This was not an accident – it was waiting to happen.”The Rs 500-crore facility operated without a fire department NOC. Fire officials said the plant lacked basic safety systems – no fire alarms, heat sensors, automatic shutdowns. There were no blast-resistant walls or roofs in processing zones that handled microcrystalline cellulose – an inflammable material prone to static electricity. No third-party safety audits were conducted in recent years.T’gana announces Rs 1 crore payout for each victim A criminal probe is underway, and arrests are likely after forensic and official reports are submitted. The explosion, triggered around 9.20am Monday by a suspected dryer malfunction in the quality control unit, occurred two hours after over 60 workers reported for duty. At the time, 143 employees were on-site. One of the 35 injured died at a private hospital. Authorities said 58 survivors have been located. Search operations by 200 firefighters, 30 NDRF, and SDRF personnel have ruled out survivors under the rubble.“For now, the missing may either not have reported to work or are among the unidentified dead,” said Y Nagi Reddy, director general of Telangana Fire Services. Four teams from Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (TGFSL) are processing over 50 DNA samples. “We’re working round-the-clock. The first set of results is expected within 24 hours,” said TGFSL director Shikha Goel. Standard identification was impossible due to severe burns. Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy visited the site, announced Rs 1 crore compensation for each deceased worker’s family, Rs 10 lakh for critically injured, and Rs 5 lakh for minor injuries. This is India’s deadliest pharma manufacturing disaster to date, surpassing the 2024 Escientia Bio Pharma blast in Andhra Pradesh that killed 17.
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