The government Andhra Pradesh has ordered for a probe into the blast that took place at Nagarjuna Agrichem Limited (NACL) plant which left 18 workers injured on Saturday. The factory has been since closed and the District collector G Venkatarami Reddy directed the inspector of factories to take steps for closing the factory under the provisions of the Factories Act. He also ordered an inquiry by additional joint collector Rajkumar to look into the circumstances that led to the mishap. The closure notice would be in force till further orders.

Sources said the officials took action after thousands of factory workers, villagers, party workers and environmental groups staged a dharna on the Chennai-Kolkata national highway at Chilakapalem junction close to the plant, demanding the immediate closure of the plant. They protested near the main gate of the plant disrupting traffic for three hours and threatened to intensify the stir if the authorities did not take action against the NACL management. They said the NACL plant was causing depletion of ground water and polluting the environment of nearby villages.

Meanwhile, doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences at Srikakulam said that all the injured were out of danger. The factory caught fire after a blast inside the plant, which later spread across the plant. Around 200 workers were present at the plant when the fire broke out. Sources said that 30 employees, who work near the blast spot usually, were away for breakfast at that time. The plant, which was established about 20 years ago manufactures pesticides and agricultural chemicals.