One dead, three injured in blast at GMFC Labs Private Limited in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district

Investigation is on, and cases will be booked against the pharma company in the due course of time, says Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories

A view of the damaged portion of the GMFC Labs after the blast, at the Atchutapuram SEZ in Anakapalli district on Tuesday.

A contract worker aged 35 died and three others were injured in a blast at the GMFC Labs Private Limited, at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Atchutapuram in Anakapalli district on Tuesday.

Panic-struck employees ran out of the pharmaceutical company premises soon after the blast even as thick flames engulfed the surroundings.

A large number of residents from the neighbouring villages rushed to the company.

The deceased was identified as Ch. Rama Rao of Sitanagaram in Parvatipuram Manyam district. The three injured workers, K. Krishnam Raju, Prabhakar and Y. Subbaraju, were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Anakapalli.

Preliminary investigation by the Department of Factories revealed that the accident took place when highly inflammable methanol was being charged into a reactor from a 200-litre capacity High-density polyethylene (HDPE) drum through a HDPE pipeline.

“During the transfer of the material, static energy would have developed, leading to fire and blast,” said Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories V. Suresh.

The company should have used stainless steel drum and pipes instead of HDPE drum and pipes, he said.

“This is only a preliminary investigation. We have to look into many other aspects, including the material present inside the reactor at the time of the accident. Investigation is on, and cases will be booked against the company in the due course of time,” he said.

The police said the blast had occurred at around 10.30 a.m. Fire tenders, which were pressed into service immediately, took a few hours to bring the fire under control. Police personnel from Rambilli and Atchutapuram, and authorities from the Factories Department rushed to the spot.

Company suspects short circuit

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Parawada Sub-Division, Srinivasa Rao, said the management suspects that the accident might have occurred due to short circuit. The Factories Department officials were yet to ascertain the reasons behind the accident, he said.

Meanwhile, Anakapalli district CITU vice-president R. Ramu blamed the GMFC management for the accident. He demanded that ₹1 crore ex gratia be paid to the next of kin of the deceased.

“Workers and their families are bearing the brunt due to lack of safety measures in the pharma and chemical factories,” Mr. Ramu alleged, and sought a thorough probe into the accident.

On December 27, 2022, four workers had died in an accident at Laurus Labs in J.N. Pharma City at Parawada.