India's Sigachi factory fire death toll rises to 39; cause still unknown

Authorities continue clearing debris as rescue efforts go on

Photo: Reuters

The death toll from the explosion and fire at Sigachi Industries' chemical factory in southern India has risen to at least 39, officials said on Tuesday, forcing the supplier of pharma products to shut operations for 90 days.

The government of Telangana state, where the facility is located, has formed a five-member committee to probe the incident, the cause of which is yet to be disclosed by the company.

The explosion on Monday also injured 34, according to officials.

"We are still clearing the debris," GV Narayana Rao, director of the Telangana fire disaster response service, told Reuters, adding that the building had completely collapsed.

"Once we are all done with the clearing, only then we will be able to assess if any other body is still remaining under the debris or if it is all clear," Rao said.

Police officials said more than 140 people were working in the plant when the incident occurred. Twenty-five of the deceased were yet to be identified, district administrative official P Pravinya said.

"I came out (of the plant) to use the restroom and heard a loud blast. It sounded like a bomb blast. I came out and saw fire. A part of the fire also spread towards me. I jumped the wall and escaped," Chandan Gound, 32, who has been working at the factory for six months, told Reuters by phone.

"Many of them (those inside) managed to escape, but a large number were trapped and could not come out," Gound added.

Sigachi, which makes microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), caters to clients in the pharma, food, cosmetic and specialty chemicals sectors in countries ranging from the US to Australia.

MCC's compressibility, binding properties, and ability to boost drug release make it a vital ingredient in pharmaceutical manufacturing. It is also used to prevent the formation of lumps in food products, to maintain texture of cosmetic products, and as a fat substitute in low-calorie foods.

Sigachi's Telangana plant contributes a little over a fourth of its total capacity of 21,700 million metric tons per annum.

Its shares dropped about 8 percent on Tuesday and were headed for their sharpest two-day drop on record.

Sigachi halted operations at the plant for 90 days from Monday citing damage to equipment and structures. The plant is fully insured and the company is initiating claims.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, five people were killed and four others injured in a massive fire at a crackers factory in the Sivakasi manufacturing cluster in the southern Tamil Nadu state, a fire department official said.

The incident is the latest in a series of fire accidents in the area.