A fire at a chemical factory in southern India killed at least six people and injured 12, a government official said on Thursday, with more casualties feared in the second such accident this week.
Government officials provided images of Wednesday's massive blaze at the factory in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
"There is a possibility of casualties increasing," V. Prasanna Venkatesh, administrative chief of the surrounding district of Eluru, told Reuters.
"Chemical processing was being done (in the unit) and gas cylinders were stored there."
The exact cause of the fire was not immediately clear but it could have been triggered when the cylinders burst for some reason, Venkatesh said, adding that authorities were investigating.
In the western state of Gujarat, a massive explosion at a chemicals plant killed six people this week.
Fatal fires in factories, hospitals and shopping complexes are common in India and often blamed on people flouting safety norms, as well as lax inspection by government officials.
China on Friday launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.
Police forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges on Thursday, including taking down an encampment at UCLA in a jarring scene that underscored the heightened chaos that has erupted at universities this week.
The Indonesian government will permanently relocate almost 10,000 residents after a series of explosive eruptions of the Ruang volcano has raised concerns about the dangers of residing on the island in future, a minister said on Friday.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the island province of Leyte in central Philippines on Friday, with damage and aftershocks expected, its seismology agency said.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the general election from the family bastion in the north, his Congress party announced on Friday, a move that will challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a region he dominates.