Explosion at pharmaceutical factory in Andhra caused by chemical leak, 17 dead, says CFO

The explosion occurred around noon on Wednesday at the private company Escientia Advanced Sciences in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where nearly 400 employees produce chemical intermediates and active ingredients for export to the United States and other Western countries.

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“It looks like it was caused by a solvent leak,” said Srinivasa Rao Korada, chief financial officer of Escientia Group, adding that the cause of the leak was not yet clear.

“The workers had noticed the leak, they were taking care of it and had almost plugged it when this happened,” he told Reuters by phone.

One of the worst industrial accidents in recent years in India, the country often called the 'pharmacy of the world', occurred a year after a fire broke out at a pharmaceutical factory in the same Anakapalli district of the state, killing two people and injuring five.

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The company is working with authorities to determine the cause of the leak, Korada said, adding that smoke and fire prevented the company from conducting an immediate investigation.

Officials said they were reviewing surveillance camera footage and interviewing the injured to determine whether there was human error.

“Preliminary investigations have revealed that there was a steam leak which led to chemical reactions which in turn caused the explosion,” said state Industries Minister N. Yuvaraj, who identified the solvent involved as methyl tert-butyl ether.

Methyl tert-butyl ether, or MTBE, is a flammable liquid used as an additive in unleaded gasoline to achieve more efficient combustion, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains on its website.

The accident is being investigated, said state Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, an ally in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, adding: “We also hope that this will be the last incident of its kind.”

The factory began operations in 2019 with an investment of 2 billion rupees ($24 million), said Vijaya Krishnan, the district's chief financial officer.

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