The sight of six burnt workers will never leave me, says Sigachi blast survivor

A year after the devastating explosion at Sigachi Industries in Pashamylaram of Sangareddy district claimed 54 lives, the physical wounds of 26-year-old microbiologist Divya have largely healed. The memories, however, remain as vivid and painful as ever.

“I can never forget those scenes. Six people with almost 90% burns were screaming for help and running around after the blast. Those images have stayed with me,” she recalls about the incident that took place on June 30, 2025.

Divya, who worked in the company’s quality control (QC) wing, had missed the company bus that morning and reached the factory by autorickshaw instead. She clocked in at 9.08 a.m. while on a long-distance phone call with her brother. Around 9.24 a.m., she was speaking to her junior colleague Rizwana outside the QC laboratory when a deafening explosion ripped through the building.

 “When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the midst of debris. There were flames on one side, and I had burn injuries and was bleeding from my hands and legs,” she says. Rizwana suffered minimal injuries.

Divya escaped the rubble with the help of HR employee Seethaiah and colleague Jagdish. Moments later, another explosion shook the factory. The blast was so powerful that investigators said eight victims’ bodies were never recovered.

As Divya waited to be taken to hospital, she witnessed a sight that continues to haunt her: “Six severely burnt workers themselves climbed into the back of the vehicle that was brought in to ferry us to the hospital. Rizwana and I sat in front with the driver. I still remember those scenes.”

Her parents later shifted her to another private hospital. During her recovery, the scale of the tragedy slowly unfolded. Among those killed were newly married colleagues Nikhil and Ramya. A month later, when she called another colleague, Venkatesh, someone from his family answered; they were performing his first-month death rituals.

A year later, Divya says she and another injured colleague, Sushma, who is still struggling to regain the use of her badly burnt hands, cannot imagine returning to a QC laboratory. “We need support from the government or the company to find jobs outside QC or in government departments. After what we witnessed, we shudder even at the thought of stepping into a laboratory again,” she adds.