Factory fire kills six in southern India

Hyderabad: At least six people have been killed while 13 sustained burn injuries after a massive broke out in a pharmaceutical factory in southern India.  

According to details, the fire broke out due to a chemical reactor leaking monomethyl nitric acid — used for manufacturing several types of polymers — which caused an explosion on Wednesday night. 

Five workers died on the spot and another succumbed to burns in a hospital. The 13 hospitalized workers are in critical condition, suffering 80% burns. 

The cause of the leak is being investigated. 

The factory is located in Akkireddygudem, a village in Andhra Pradesh state. Media reports said it took two hours to extinguish the blaze.

In 2019, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in a New Delhi factory producing handbags and other items killed 43 people. 

In a second major fire that year, a blaze in a six-story building’s illegal rooftop kitchen killed 17 people, also in New Delhi.