Fire at Dr Reddy's chemical unit claims two

Two contract labourers were charred to death in a fire mishap at Dr Reddy's Laboratories' chemical manufacturing facility at Bollarum industrial area here.

The fire broke out late on Thursday in the material-handling lift area of G Block.

“The fire accident seems to have possibly happened when two contract workers, Mr K. Govinda Rao (34) and Mr B. Kesava (25), were moving material. We are deeply saddened to inform that both the contract employees have died in this unfortunate incident,” the Hyderabad-based company said in statement.

Cause of fire uncertain

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, but G-Block was immediately shut down for safety reasons, it added.

According to the police, the deceased were caught in the lift when the fire broke out.

“We are awaiting a thorough check and investigation into the matter,” the company said without divulging any other details.

This was the second mishap within three-four months at Dr Reddy's units, which boast of US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval for high quality/safety standards.

In December 2010, a chemist and a contract worker died in a “possible leak of poisonous gas” at the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) plant of the company at Bollaram. The victims were handling the process of micronisation of Omeprazole powder.

Previous mishap

The latest accident comes even before the completion of investigation by multiple authorities including the Factories Inspectorate, the Drugs Control Administration, Hyderabad, and the police into the December mishap.

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