The death toll in the explosion at Sigachi Industries’ pharmaceutical plant in Pashamylaram has risen to 35, a senior police official confirmed on Tuesday.
"Several bodies were found under the debris during the removal process. So far, 31 bodies have been recovered from the rubble, and three others died while receiving treatment in hospital," said District Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj told PTI.
He added that the final phase of the rescue operation is underway to trace the 17 people still missing.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, accompanied by some of his cabinet colleagues, visited the accident site.
Pranaam Hospitals in Miyapur said they received 21 patients on Monday with burns and head injuries. However, two were declared brought dead and one succumbed this morning.
Similarly, Dhruva Hospitals in Patancheru told PTI that they received 11 patients on Monday out of which two were referred to superspeciality hospitals.
"Out of the Nine patients, five are on ventilators. We have seven patients with burns ranging from 40-80 per cent burns and two are with 10 per cent burns," the official said.
According to a revenue department official, the identity of nine bodies has only been established so far while the remaining need to undergo DNA profiling.
Most of the deceased belonged to other states such Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar.
The fatal blast, which occurred on Monday, is suspected to have resulted from a chemical reaction.
Sigachi Industries Limited, according to its website, is a pharmaceutical company engaged in manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), Intermediates, Excipients, vitamin-mineral blends, and providing Operations and Management (O&M) services.
(With inputs from PTI)