Death toll in chemical factory blast in India's Telangana rises to 12

NEW DELHI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- With the recovery of four more bodies, the death toll in Monday's blast at a chemical factory in the southern Indian state of Telangana has risen to 12, officials said.

Thirty-four others injured in the blast are undergoing treatment at the hospitals.

The blast took place in the Pashamylaram industrial area of Patancheru, Sangareddy district, about 48 km northwest of Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana.

Telangana local health minister Damodara Raja Narasimha said the rescuers are searching for the bodies in the debris. "But there may be a few more people," he said.

The minister said an error could have happened during the processing, resulting in the blast of the drying unit.

A senior police official V Satyanaryana told the media that around 150 people were present at the time of the explosion inside the factory, with 90 of them in the affected area.

The police have registered a case and ordered an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion and assess whether safety protocols were in place at the factory.

Accidental explosions are common in Indian factories. Labor union leaders in India often accuse factories of ignoring safety standards vis-a-vis workers.