Bhubaneswar: Five workers from Odisha are missing following a powerful explosion, which triggered a fire at Sigachi pharmaceutical factory in Pashamylaram industrial area in Sangareddy district of Telangana.
Those missing are Chaita Bhadra and Ramesh Gauda of Nabarangpur, Prasant Mohapatra of Ganjam, and Siddharth Gouda and Purna Chandra Sahu of Sukarpada in Cuttack district.
Officer on special duty in the directorate of Odisha Parivaar, Pritish Panda informed that family members of four of the missing workers have already submitted their samples for DNA identification and one more family will reach Sangareddy on Thursday to give their sample.
The Sangareddy district officials had on Wednesday said that 36 bodies had been retrieved so far, of which 18 were yet to be identified. These 18 unidentified bodies have been kept in the mortuary at the government hospital in Patancheru. Meanwhile, Sigachi management confirmed that the toll had touched 40 with 15 employees still missing as of Wednesday evening. While 34 injured persons were undergoing treatment in five hospitals, the condition of more than 10 of them was reported to be critical, the Telangana Today reported.
Panda had earlier confirmed the death of four workers from the state in the Monday incident with another four undergoing treatment at Pranaam and Druva hospitals in Telangana. The deceased have been identified as Rajnala Jagan Mohan (55) of Ganjam, Lagnajeet Duari of Cuttack, Manoj Rout of Balasore and Dolagobinda Sahu of Jajpur. The bodies of the deceased have been sent to their native places by ambulances.
Among the injured, Samir Padhy (24), a machine operator from Ganjam, is battling for life with 35% burns. The other three are Chandan Kumar Naik of Bhadrak, and Neelambar Batra and Chitrasen Batra of Nabarangpur and their condition is stated to be stable.
Also Read: Four From Odisha Dead, As Many Injured In Telangana Chemical Factory Blast
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has deputed Panda and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Chandrasekhar Hota to reach out to workers from Odisha affected in the accident at Sigachi Chloro Chemicals Private Limited. The team arrived at Pashamylaram Industrial Area on Wednesday and interacted with Sangareddy district officials to gather details about Odisha employees. It is also following up with the Telangana government and Sigachi management for the release of ex-gratia to the bereaved families and compensation for the injured.
According to reports, there were around 143 workers during the time of the blast, which damaged the core manufacturing infrastructure at the facility. The company has committed an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore each to the kin of the deceased.
