Two Workers Die and Nine Others Suffer Severe Injuries in a Major Reactor Blast at a Telangana Pharma Company

A massive chemical reactor explosion followed by a raging fire ripped through a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Telangana's Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district late Friday night. The industrial disaster occurred around 10:27 PM at Hazelo Lab Private Limited, an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing unit located in Dothigudem village under Pochampally mandal, about 50 kilometres from Hyderabad. The blast took place during a night shift change when twelve workers were inside the one-storeyed facility, triggering panic across surrounding villages as loud explosions were heard and thick smoke billowed into the air.

The explosion resulted in the immediate death of two workers on duty, identified as 31-year-old Chennu Nagi Reddy from Chinnagudem village in Nalgonda district, and 29-year-old Naganaboina Naresh Kumar from Choudaram village in Khammam district. Nine other workers on the premises suffered injuries, with two individuals remaining in critical condition after sustaining more than 50 percent burn injuries. The injured workers, including technicians from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh districts, were quickly pulled from the debris and shifted to private hospitals in the region for urgent medical treatment.
Emergency fire services dispatched multiple fire tenders from Choutuppal, Bhongir, and Hayathnagar stations following emergency calls, battling the intense blaze for over five hours before bringing the site under control in the early morning hours. Pochampally police and industrial safety inspectors have inspected the premises and registered a criminal case against the company's management under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for negligence and safety lapses, while forensic experts investigate the exact operational failure that triggered the reactor blast.