Explosion at Telangana pharma plant kills director, 3 workers; 16 injured

Four persons were killed and 16 others injured due to an explosion in a chemical reactor at a pharmaceutical company's plant in Sangareddy district of Telangana on Wednesday, police and fire department officials said, adding that among the deceased is the firm's director. The blast occurred around 5 pm at the factory of SB Organics Ltd, located at Chandapur village of Hathnoora mandal of the district, and it led to a fire, they said. The plant is located about 40 km from Hyderabad International airport. The fire, which spread through the pharma unit's premises, was subsequently brought under control, the officials said. The deceased include the pharma firm's director and three workers, police said, but further details about the deceased were not immediately available. "The reactor exploded at the pharma company and people around it were thrown away in its impact...Four people have died," a senior police official told PTI. Sixteen others who suffered injuries in the incident have