Two quality control technicians were killed and the director of a company that trades in essential oils was seriously injured in the explosion of a hydrogen bottle at the factory in the industrial area near Madanapalle on Tuesday.
According to information, the Madanapalle-based private company that exports essential oils and sent samples to Bengaluru or Puducherry for quality testing bought a quality testing machine (gas chromatograph) in view of the COVID-19 lockdown.
A technician from Bengaluru, Ninganna (47), a resident of Bijapur, came to Madanapalle to install the machine. Shaik Nayaz, 37, a native Punganur, was called in to help Ninganna with the task.
When the technicians were installing the machine, a huge explosion occurred, in which Ninganna was killed on the spot and Shaik Nayaz was seriously injured. The head of the company, Siva Mahesh (40), who comes from Madanapalle, was also seriously injured. Nayaz died while being transferred to the SVRR hospital in Tirupati. The condition of the other injured is stable. The machinery and its housing were totally damaged.
A factory official reportedly told police that the explosion occurred when the technicians connected the bottles of hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen to the quality testing machine. Senior police officers visited the site. A complaint has been registered and further investigations are ongoing.