Andhra Pradesh: 6 dead, 12 injured in massive fire due to chemical leak at factory

Six persons died in a fire accident in a chemical factory located in Akkireddygudem in the district and 12 others sustained burns, police said on Thursday. According to Rahul Dev Sharma, Superintendent of Police, Eluru, the injured are being treated in a Government Hospital in Vijayawada.

He said it is suspected the fire broke out late on Wednesday in the plant’s reactor that makes polymer power.

A doctor in the hospital said four of the injured are in serious condition.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy expressed shock over the incident and announced Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased.

According to an official release, he also announced Rs five lakh each to the critically injured and Rs 2 lakh to those who sustained minor injuries.

Andhra Pradesh | Six killed & 12 injured in a fire accident at a chemical factory in Akkireddigudem, Eluru, last night. The fire broke out due to leakage of nitric acid, monomethyl: Eluru SP Rahul Dev Sharma

(Visuals from last night) pic.twitter.com/sRwkTRrLQs

— ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2022

Earlier on Tuesday, a massive fire broke out in the forest area of Tirumala, which was bought under control and was doused off, said Forest Range Officer (FRO).

“A Fire broke out in the Tirumala forest area in the afternoon of Tuesday around 2:30 pm. Fires spread rapidly in the forest area near the Elephant Arch on First Ghat Road. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) forest department personnel reached the spot and it took around 8 hours to douse the fire,” said Prabhakar Reddy, Forest Range Officer, Tirumala.

Reddy said that it might be the work of the smugglers for road visibility.

“They used cloths to lit the fire in a couple of places. Nearly 50 people tried to douse the fire in the afternoon around 2 pm. Though the fire didn’t come on the side of Tirumala, it was stopped 1 km away from the Ghat road,” he added.

News Credit: India TV News