India factory fire kills 6, hospitalizes 13 with burns

By OMER FAROOQ
Associated Press

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Police say a fire in a pharmaceutical factory after an explosion has killed at least six workers on night shift and burned 13 others. Police said the fire broke out due to a tank leaking monomethyl nitric acid, which caused a big explosion on Wednesday night. Five workers died on the spot and another succumbed to burns in a hospital. The 13 hospitalized workers are in critical condition, suffering 80% burns. The cause of the leak is being investigated. Media reports said it took two hours to douse the blaze. In 2019, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in a New Delhi factory producing handbags and other items killed 43 people.