HYDERABAD: Local officials said that 17 people have been killed and others 40 wounded in an explosion in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The state’s worst such incident in recent years, Wednesday’s explosion occurred at the 40-acre unit of privately held Escientia Advanced Sciences in the Anakapalli district. About 40 people were wounded and rescue operations had been concluded, the official, Industries Secretary N. Yuvaraj said.
Escientia did not immediately reply to a request for comment but local officials said they suspected a blast in the chemical reactor. Local officials stated that they were scanning closed-circuit TV footage and questioning the wounded to decide if human error was responsible for the explosion. A fire in the same area last year in a unit of Sahithi Pharma killed around two people and wounded five.
