Four workers died and at least one other person remained in critical care after a water boiler exploded at a private pharmaceutical facility inside Andhra Pradesh’s Sri City special economic zone on Saturday morning, district officials and India Today reported. The blast hit shortly after 8 a.m. local time in Satyavedu mandal of Tirupati district, catching several employees still on the night shift at the healthcare-linked plant.
Casualties and the immediate response
According to officials cited by India Today, two people were killed on the spot when the boiler ruptured. Two more died in hospital while doctors treated a third worker who was seriously injured. Police and emergency teams reached the SEZ compound and began rescue work while the exact sequence that triggered the failure was still unknown.
Survivors interviewed at the scene described sudden heat and smoke. One man told reporters he had just begun eating breakfast in the canteen when fire erupted; he showed burns on his chest and legs. Another woman, identified as Krishnaveni, said she was in the canteen when she was struck, possibly by debris from above, and did not immediately understand what had happened outside the building.
Political reaction in Amaravati
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said he was shocked by the deaths and spoke with district officials about relief for the families. He offered condolences to relatives and directed the administration to stand with those affected, according to the state government’s public statements carried by local media.
The incident lands at a sensitive moment for industrial policy in Andhra Pradesh, where Sri City has marketed itself as a hub for pharma and medical-device manufacturing. Opposition legislators have in the past pressed the government on factory-safety inspections inside SEZs; Saturday’s deaths are likely to renew those questions in the assembly when it next meets.
What investigators must establish
Police have opened an inquiry into whether pressure-equipment maintenance records were current and whether the boiler was operating within licensed limits. Industrial safety rules require periodic certification for steam vessels; any gap in documentation could expose the operator to criminal liability as well as compensation claims under state labour law.
Sri City administrators said they were coordinating with district collectors to ensure injured workers received treatment at Tirupati-area hospitals. SEZ officials typically maintain their own fire-response contracts, and it was not immediately clear whether on-site extinguishers functioned as designed before external crews arrived.
Officials have not released the names of all victims pending notification of next of kin. Labour unions representing pharma workers in coastal Andhra have asked for a statewide audit of boilers at export-oriented plants, arguing that round-the-clock shifts increase the chance of missed inspections.
Further details on the company operating the unit and any prior safety notices are expected after forensic teams complete an on-site assessment. Until then, production at the affected block is halted, though neighbouring units in the SEZ continued operating under police supervision on Saturday afternoon according to local reporters at the gate.