The death toll has risen to 17 following a reactor explosion at a pharmaceutical company in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Atchutapuram, located in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district. The blast occurred in a 500-kilo-litre capacitor reactor while approximately 200 workers were on duty. Anakapalli District Collector Vijaya Krishnan confirmed the fatalities on Thursday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has called for a high-level investigation into the incident and is expected to visit the families of the victims and injured on Thursday. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sorrow over the tragedy, announcing an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured, as stated by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a post on X.
