Two workers were burnt to death while two others were seriously injured when a major fire broke out at a plastic pyrolysis oil manufacturing unit at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Barawada in Anakapally district of Andhra Pradesh on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam city early on Tuesday, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Venkatesh (24) and Trinad (27), both residents of Atchuttapuram in Anakapally district.
Barawada Police Inspector Lenka Bhaskar Rao told reporters that according to preliminary investigations, a fire broke out at the privately owned factory of a company engaged in manufacturing plastic pyrolysis oil and carbon black, after a storage tank exploded during the process of recycling plastic waste into oil.
He added: “The explosion led to a massive fire that spread quickly throughout the facility, fueled by large quantities of plastic materials stored in the building. Many workers were able to escape, but some of them were trapped inside as the fire engulfed parts of the factory.”
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The accident led to the death of two workers, and two others were seriously injured.
The police, along with fire and emergency crews, moved to carry out rescue operations.
“Considering the seriousness of the situation, two fire engines from Varma City Fire Station and one from Barawada Fire Station were deployed. Firefighters battled the fire for about four hours before it was completely brought under control,” the inspector said.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep anguish over the incident and spoke to senior district officials to review the situation. He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, and assured them of all possible support from the government.
An official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said, “Naidu ordered the district authorities to provide immediate assistance to the injured and ensure that they get the best possible medical treatment. He also instructed the officials to maintain strict safety standards in the industrial areas and ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.”
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also expressed grief over the loss of lives and sought details of the incident from Anakapalli District Collector Vijay Krishnan.
State Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha reviewed the situation by speaking to Anakapally Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha. It directed officials to speed up rescue and relief measures, ensure good medical care for the wounded, and provide support to affected families.
