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At least 15 people have died in an explosion at a pharmaceutical factory in India, police said on Thursday. Another 30 to 40 people have suffered chemical burns, some of them serious.
The violent explosion, which was then followed by a fire, occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Anakapalle in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is still unclear what caused the accident, which will now be investigated by local authorities.
About 380 people work at the affected factory in two different shifts, but many are believed to have escaped the blast because they were on their lunch break when it happened.
Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi writes in a post on social media that he mourns the victims and that the families of those who died in the accident will be compensated.