Overview
- A blast and fire tore through the Dakshin Energy pyrolysis unit in Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City on Tuesday leaving two workers dead and two others hospitalized.
- Fire crews from the Pharma City and Parawada stations reached the site and brought the blaze under control after several hours of firefighting and rescue work.
- Police and the Factory Inspector have opened formal inquiries and the state government has directed reports and an immediate safety audit of industrial units around Visakhapatnam.
- Officials say the unit converts plastic waste into pyrolysis oil using a heated reactor that produces flammable gases and stores volatile liquids, and investigators are focusing on a possible reactor or storage-tank failure during processing.
- Labour groups and politicians have demanded stricter enforcement after a string of recent industrial accidents in the Visakhapatnam area and families of the dead have been promised government assistance while investigations continue.