AP Govt. to pay Rs.1 crore to families of dead in Anakapalle pharma blast

Visakhapatnam: Expressing serious concern over the reactor blast at a pharma company at Andhra Pradesh State Economic Zone (APSEZ) at Atchutapuram in Anakapalle district, around 40 km from here, AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday ordered a high level inquiry into the incident and announced an ex gratia of Rs.1 crore the next of kin of the dead.

The incident that occurred on Wednesday afternoon left 17 dead including an assistant general manager and injured over 40 workers at the Escentia Advanced Science Pvt Ltd. Collapse of two floors under the impact of the explosion increased the fatalities during the transition time of two shifts. Solvent leakage while shifting it at high pressure through a pipeline from second floor to the ground floor was said to have triggered the explosion and collapse of part of the building housing the pharma unit manufacturing API.

Meanwhile, the government pulled up the management for not responding immediately to calls by the government in making it public about the gravity of the incident. Initial reports did not confirm any casualties The police have booked a case against the management following the fatal accident.

Naidu, after calling on the injured undergoing treatment at Medicover Hospital here, told reporters that stringent action will be taken against the management if it is found guilty for the loss of so many human lives. He also directed the authorities to render best possible treatment, plastic surgery and if required engage air ambulances to support the injured workers. The Chief Minister announced Rs.50 lakh to each seriously injured worker and Rs.25 lakh to those injured at the earliest.

The Chief Minister described as unfortunate the incident at a time when the TDP-led NDA Government was reviewing the security apparatus in the chemical and hazardous industrial units and blamed the previous regime for neglecting the safety parameters during the past five years.

YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will call on the injured and bereaved family members on Friday. He said he had decided to visit a day after the Chief Minister's tour to avoid security issues. During the previous government, highest ex gratia of Rs.1 crore was given to those killed in a crane crash at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his deep shock over the incident and announced an ex gratia of Rs.2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased. President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and others expressed their deep sympathies to the bereaved family members and to those injured in the pharma unit accident.