In an explosion at Hetero Drugs unit at Nakkapalli in Visakhapatnam, one worker died on the spot and two were seriously injured, on Wednesday evening.
The incident happened when the workers were cutting an empty chemical plastic drum at the scrap yard.
As per the initial investigation by the Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, the drums were being cut without being cleaned. There must have been some remnants of the chemical solvent with some static energy and the friction generated from the cutting tool would have activated the static energy resulting into the blast, said Deputy Joint Chief Inspector of Factories Chinna Rao.
The deceased was S. Appa Rao (34) from Nakkapalli and the injured were A. Simhachalam and Rehman. All the three were contract workers and the injured have been shifted to a corporate hospital in the city for treatment.
As per the standard procedure, the empty chemical drums are to be cleaned before being cut and disposed of. But in this case, the cleaning part was overlooked.
