VIJAYAWADA: The death toll in the reactor blast incident at a chemical factory is likely to rise further as nine of the 12 workers admitted at Vijayawada government general hospital are in critical condition.
The critical patients were shifted to Andhra Hospitals at Gollapudi by the factory management later in the evening when their condition deteriorated.
GGH superintendent Dr Sowbhagya Lakshmi said the nine patients have suffered more than 70 per cent burns and are not responding to treatment. The condition of the other three patients is better and they are improving, she added.
Dr Y Kiran Kumar, head of surgery department, said most of the workers have suffered severe burns and their chances of survival are bleak. One worker, identified as B Kiran Kumar, a native of Akkireddygudem, died before reaching the hospital.
Eluru range DIG G Palaraju said preliminary investigation suggests the valve of the reactor might not have been closed properly. "The high temperature combined with the gas which is highly inflammable may have triggered the blast.
The factory (Porus Chemicals) belongs to a person called Purushottam who resides in Hyderabad. He also has units in Athchuthapuram and Paravada apart from Akkireddigudem," Palaraju said. The DIG added that the company had good amount of foam stock, which is a mandatory fire safety measure in chemical units, which helped douse the fire quickly.
Eluru SP Rahul Dev Sharma said the chemical unit manufactures and supplies 4MPI, a powder which is used as raw material in making polymer granules.
