Staffers left gas leak during lunch break unattended, 17 lost lives at pharma unit

In Anakapalli, Andhra Pradesh, a chemical blast at a pharmaceutical unit killed 17 workers. The incident was triggered by a leak of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), which went unattended during lunch. Despite detecting the leak earlier, it was not addressed until too late, causing the vapors to explode and resulting in severe casualties.