Sigachi Industries Chemical Factory Explosion, Hyderabad – June 2025

On a Monday morning in June 2025, 143 workers and three security guards were on duty at a pharmaceutical ingredients plant near Hyderabad. At about 9:25 AM, fine white powder hanging in the air of the packing room exploded. Fifty-four people died. Eight of them were never found.

Date and place

• Date: 30 June 2025, Monday, at about 9:25 AM
• Place: Sigachi Industries Limited, Pashamylaram, Sangareddy district (near Hyderabad), Telangana

What happened

• A huge explosion, followed by fire, tore through the production block of Sigachi Industries, which makes microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), a fine powder used in medicines.
• A technical expert committee later traced the blast to the packing room, near a bag-sealing machine. It concluded that burning plastic bags at the machine ignited a cloud of fine MCC powder: a dust explosion. The spray dryer collapsed two to three seconds after the blast.
• Early counts changed many times. On 1 July 2025 the state reported 44 dead as rescue work went on. In August 2025 the Telangana government told the High Court that 54 people had died, including eight whose bodies were never found, and that 28 were injured (11 seriously).
• Sigachi Industries reported a standalone net loss of ₹100.35 crore for April to June 2025, after exceptional losses of ₹121.01 crore linked to the incident.

What went wrong

The Technical Expert Committee’s report of 4 September 2025, filed before the National Green Tribunal, listed these failures:

• Fine combustible dust in a cramped room. MCC powder hung in the air of a confined, congested packing room, with more than 17 tonnes of powder close by.
• A heat source right next to the dust. Bags were heat-sealed in the same room, and burning bags at the sealing machine set off the dust cloud.
• A plant that outgrew its building. The structure was designed in 1994. Bigger and heavier machines were added over the years by altering the same structure, and workers reported vibration.
• Weak safety basics. The committee found training, PPE, safety audits, firefighting facilities and mock drills “severely lacking”.
• Helpers running machines. The packing operator said the production department gave him helpers each day to run the weighing, sealing and stitching machines.

Facts that are easy to miss

• 143 workers and 3 security staff were on site at the time, according to the committee.
• Eight workers were never found. In August 2025 their families were still waiting for death certificates.
• Of the 46 dead whose bodies were recovered, 20 were regular employees, 16 temporary and 10 contract workers. They came from at least nine states, mostly Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
• The Chief Minister announced ₹1 crore for each bereaved family. A year later, families told The New Indian Express they had received ₹25 lakh to ₹50 lakh, and the balance was disputed.

How it could have been prevented

• Flame-proof or explosion-proof electrical fittings wherever dust is present, as the committee recommends.
• Dust extraction at the source and approved vacuum cleaning wherever powder is produced, packed or released. Never sweep or blow dust with compressed air.
• Keep heat sources away from dust. Sealing machines, heaters and hot work should be separated from areas where powder hangs in the air.
• A yearly risk analysis by a competent person for Orange and Red category industries, with dust-explosion controls based on NFPA 660 (2025), the US combustible dust standard the committee referred to.
• A fresh structural and safety review whenever production or machinery is increased.
• Training, PPE and regular drills for everyone, including temporary and contract workers and daily helpers.
• Separate high-risk operations from offices, canteens and storage blocks.
• Third-party safety audits of hazardous process industries, followed up by the Factories Department.

If you are ever caught in a factory explosion or fire

1. Move away from the source at once. A second explosion can follow, especially where dust has been thrown into the air.
2. Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth to reduce the smoke and fumes you breathe.
3. Head for open air, upwind of the smoke, and keep out of low pits and basements where gases can collect.
4. Do not use lifts. Use the nearest safe stairs.
5. Help others out only if you can do it without losing your own way out.
6. If a chemical gets on your skin or in your eyes, rinse with plenty of clean running water for at least 15 minutes.
7. Call 101, 108 or 112 and tell them which chemical or dust is involved if you know.
8. Go to the assembly point so supervisors know you are safe, and never go back in until the authorities say so.
9. Get a medical check-up even if you feel fine; breathing problems can show up later.

Key numbers

• Deaths: 54, including 8 workers whose bodies were never found (state affidavit, August 2025)
• Injured: 28, of whom 11 seriously (state affidavit, August 2025)
• Time of explosion: about 9:25 AM, 30 June 2025
• Type: combustible dust (MCC) explosion, followed by fire
• Cause (technical committee): burning bags at a heat-sealing machine ignited an MCC dust cloud in the packing room
• People on site: 143 workers and 3 security staff
• Financial impact: standalone net loss of ₹100.35 crore for April to June 2025, after ₹121.01 crore of exceptional losses

The human cost

• Most of the dead were workers who had come from other states to earn a living, many of them on temporary or contract terms.
• For the families of the eight missing workers, there was no body to cremate and, for months, no death certificate.

What needs to change

• Growing production without growing safety is a disaster waiting to happen.
• Every factory that handles fine powders must treat dust as an explosion hazard: extraction, housekeeping and no ignition sources nearby.
• Every hazardous factory must keep an on-site emergency plan and mutual-aid arrangements with neighbouring units.
• People living near industrial areas should know the emergency siren codes and assembly points.
• Accident reporting must be transparent, and compensation for contract workers’ families must be paid in full and on time.

What you can do today

• If you work with powders such as flour, sugar, cellulose, plastics or metal dust, ask your supervisor how dust is controlled and cleaned.
• Learn the GHS hazard symbols on chemical bags and drums.
• Report unsafe chemical storage or dust build-up to the Factories Department or the fire service.
• Support workers’ right to training and protective equipment, including contract workers.
• Share this story. Profit without safety is a loss we all pay for.

In a few seconds, a powder used to make medicines took 54 lives. When safety is ignored, any factory can become a time bomb.

Latest update (16 October 2026)

Police arrested Sigachi’s managing director and CEO, Amit Raj Sinha, on 27 December 2025 under BNS sections 105, 110 and 117, ETV Bharat reported. Two days later, death certificates were issued for the eight workers whose bodies were never found. On 3 February 2026 the Telangana High Court granted him conditional bail, noting that the investigation was complete and a chargesheet had been filed.

Compensation remained in dispute. In January 2026 Sigachi told the High Court its share was limited to Rs 42 lakh per family out of the Rs 1 crore announced, and the court asked the state to explain the gaps. We found no trial outcome by 16 October 2026.

More on Hyderabad: see our Hyderabad fire and emergency safety guide for fire brigade numbers, every fire station and the local risks to know.