— Photo: Mohd. Arif
Damage control: Fire personnel trying to put out the fire at the Siris pesticide unit in Gummadidala of Medak district on Sunday.
Sangareddy: A blast in the Gummadidala-based Siris crop sciences pesticide manufacturing unit ripped apart a four-storeyed shed on Sunday. However, no one was hurt in the blast.
According to sources, highly inflammable Xylene, a byproduct of Isopropane, caught fire while the product was put to washing.
The accident occurred around 9.15 a.m. but the flames could be brought under control only by afternoon. The flames and the resultant smoke engulfed many villages around a six-kilometre radius of the unit.
Villagers shifted
Residents of the nearby Mambapur village vacated their houses and were moved to safer places. Fifteen fire fighting units from industries in Patancheru, Ramachandrapuram, including BHEL, Sadashivpet, Sangareddy, Medak and the IAF Academy in Dundigal were summoned to bring the fire under control.
The industrial safety team led by Chandramohan arrived at the scene and supervised the fire control operation. Speaking to The Hindu over phone, Mr Chandramohan said that the fire was caused by a reaction in Xylene and investigations would pinpoint the cause.
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