Anakapalli industrial accident is a clear case of negligence, says Factories Department official

Tragic industrial accident in Andhra Pradesh due to negligence by management leaves 17 dead, 36 injured.

Officials of the Factories Department have ascertained that the industrial accident at the Escientia Advanced Sciences Private Limited in Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh on the afternoon of August 21 (Wednesday), is a clear case of negligence by the management.

Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, Deputy Inspector of Factories Anakapalli Narayana Rao said that the accident in which 17 persons died and 36 were injured, occurred due to the leakage of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) solvent from the pipeline flange on the second floor of the factory.

The solvent leaked from the second floor to the first floor and came in contact with highly inflammable electrical panels, he said.

“The moment it (MTBE) came in contact with electrical panels, heat and fire were generated. This resulted in the formation of vapour clouds which led to the explosion. Due to the explosion, the walls and pillars gave way and the duct burst. The workers got trapped under the debris and died,” he said.

Mr. Narayana Rao also said that it was a clear case of negligence by the management. He said that the authorities should have stopped the leakage but they failed to do so. He also wondered how such a huge quantity of leakage went unnoticed.

The district police and the Fire Department personnel reached the spot, doused the flames and rescued 13 employees stuck on the third floor of the building using a skylift.

“We have used around 14 fire tenders and about 50 personnel have toiled hard to put off the fire. It took around an hour to arrest the fire and prevent it from spreading to the upper floors. We have used boom lifts and cranes by breaking the glasses to rescue 13 members who were stuck on the third floor,” said Regional Fire Officer (Zone I) Niranjan Reddy.