Overview
- The leak occurred early Wednesday, August 5, at a pharmaceutical unit in the Kadechur-Badiyal Industrial Area and five workers were exposed, with three declared dead at Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences.
- Officials say thionyl chloride was being used in a stainless-steel reactor and sulphur dioxide produced in the process was carried via a pipeline to a scrubber before the pipeline reportedly developed a leak.
- Police have registered an FIR against the company and its officials, the plant has been shut, and SDRF, NDRF and forensic teams are on site while post-mortems and technical probes continue.
- The three deceased have been identified as young migrant labourers from Telangana and Madhya Pradesh and the company has pledged Rs 20 lakh per bereaved family while statutory benefits are being processed; two injured workers remain hospitalized.
- The incident has prompted a state-ordered inquiry and could trigger tighter inspections of chemical safety and compliance after local complaints and past accidents raised concern about industrial oversight.