ATCHUTAPURAM: A fire accident at a pharma unit here on Wednesday left 13 persons dead and 33 injured, and the damage could have been worse but for the lunch break that saw fewer workers in the plant when the blaze erupted. Harrowing scenes unfolded at the SEZ where the fire ripped through the pharma company. Injured workers with torn clothes and bleeding injuries were seen being shifted to hospitals in ambulances.


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The fire broke out at 2:15 pm at Escientia Advanced Science Pvt Ltd at Atchutapuram in Anakapalli district. The company, which manufactures intermediate chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) commenced production in April 2019 with an investment of Rs 200 crore. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to use air ambulance services, if needed, to shift the injured persons for better treatment from the accident spot.


The CM, who is scheduled to visit the multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) where the accident occurred, observed that air ambulance services could be used to shift patients either to Visakhapatnam or Hyderabad for better medical care. "The CM instructed officials to use air ambulance services to shift the injured persons, if needed. He also directed the health secretary to immediately visit the accident spot," said an official press release.


The CM will visit the accident site on Thursday to call on the families of the deceased persons and also meet those who were seriously injured. Further, he ordered a high level enquiry into the incident, promising stringent action against the management if its negligence was found to have caused the tragic incident.


Naidu spoke multiple times with Anakapalli district collector Vijaya Krishnan over the incident and issued instructions to extend better services for the affected people. Earlier, the collector told PTI that the factory operates with 381 employees in two shifts.


"The fire occurred during lunch time. Therefore, staff presence was less," she said. The official added the fire was suspected to be electricity-related. As many as 33 injured people were shifted to different hospitals in Anakapalli and Atchutapuram while the Fire Department is engaged in rescue operations, deploying six fire tenders.


Further, 13 people trapped in the unit were rescued using ladder vehicles, Krishnan said. Naidu expressed grief over the loss of lives and assured that the government will stand by the families of the workers who died. Wailing relatives of the deceased persons complained that authorities were not keeping them informed about the developments and also whereabouts of their affected kin.


The company is located in a 40-acre campus in the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation's (APIIC) multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) at Atchutapuram cluster.