By Kimberlee Speakman
At least 36 people are dead following a pharmaceutical factory explosion in southern India.
The incident happened at the Sigachi Industries chemical factory in Telangana, India — located about 31 miles from Hyderabad — on Monday, June 30, leaving at least 36 people dead, according to the Associated Press and Al Jazeera.
At least 34 bodies have been recovered from the explosion site, according to the AP. Two others who were transported to the hospital from the factory with burns also reportedly succumbed to their injuries.
Reuters reported that the death toll had risen to 39 as of Tuesday, July 1, citing officials. Police officials told the outlet that more than 140 people had been working inside the factory when the explosion occurred and that the building had completely collapsed.
“We are still clearing the debris,” Telangana fire disaster response service director G.V. Narayana Rao told the outlet. “Once we are all done with the clearing, only then we will be able to assess if any other [bodies are] still remaining under the debris or if it is all clear.”
Nearly three dozen workers were also reportedly hospitalized, per the AP. As for the bodies that were recovered from the debris of the factory, 25 have yet to be identified, district administrative official P. Pravinya told Al Jazeera.
“As bodies were badly burnt and mutilated, a special medical team has been deployed to conduct DNA tests,” the state’s Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha told the AP.
The government of the Telangana state has formed a committee to investigate the incident, Narasimha told the outlet.
Sigachi Industries has not yet disclosed what caused the explosion, but according to the AP and Reuters, the company has halted operations at the plant for 90 days due to damage to its core manufacturing infrastructure.
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Sigachi Industries did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. PEOPLE was unable to reach out to the Telangana Fire Disaster Response.
According to the outlets, the chemical plant in Telangana produced microcrystalline cellulose, which is a chemical compound that is used to create drugs. Sigachi Industries’ website notes that they are the “largest manufacturers of Microcrystalline Cellulose worldwide.”
The company announced to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday that it would conduct a thorough site assessment, per the AP.