The toll from the explosion that ripped through a pharmaceutical plant in the Sangareddy district of Telangana rose to 37 by Tuesday evening, even as operations to rescue at least 20 more people continued for the second consecutive day.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy, who visited the site early on Tuesday, sought a detailed report on the accident, while the district police registered an FIR against the management of the pharma plant.
According to Sangareddy district officials, 143 people were present at the unit at 9.20am, when a powerful explosion took place , triggering a blaze and caving in a three-storey building. Of these 143, 58 managed to escape, while rescue operations are on to find 20 more. Most of the deceased were from Odisha, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, they said.
A senior official involved in the rescue operations said 37 bodies have been recovered from the rubble so far, while another 35 are undergoing treatment. “At least 20 more employees who had reported for duty remain unaccounted for. Neither the authorities nor the families have been able to trace them so far,” the official said.
The chief minister, who visited the site and met the injured workers at a local hospital at Patancheru, said those severely injured will receive ₹10 lakh, while those who are injured but can resume work after some recovery will be provided ₹5 lakh. “The state government is also ready to bear the entire cost of medical care for the injured. The officials have also been ordered to provide admission to the children of the victims in government residential schools,” he told reporters.
He added: “The state government will talk to the company management to ensure that each ₹1 crore compensation is paid to the deceased families. I have issued orders that from both the government side and company side ₹1 crore compensation will be paid.”
He also sought a comprehensive report on the incident, including details of past similar occurrences, and found fault with the senior management of the firm for their absence during the crisis. “Major accident has taken place. He (senior management) has to come. He has to visit the deceased persons’ families. You cannot avoid the situation. He has to come. Ask him to come,” Reddy fumed. However, a company official who was present at the chief minister’s visit told him that executive chairman and vice-chairman had visited the plant on Monday and that the managing director would visit the plant shortly.
Sangareddy district superintendent of police Paritosh Pankaj, meanwhile, said the Patancheru police has registered a first information report (FIR) in connection with the explosion. “We have registered an FIR in this case under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 117 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita. The investigation is on,” he said.
A senior official of the Department of Factories, Telangana, said they will be booking a case against the license holder and manager of the unit under the Factories Act 1948.
Meanwhile, as many of the victims have been charred beyond recognition and their samples have been sent for DNA testing, family members continue a frantic search for their loved ones.
Pooja Kumari, a seven-month pregnant woman from Bihar, is desperately seeking information on four missing family members-her husband, two uncles, and her brother — who were all working at the unit when the explosion took place. “We went and searched in hospitals. But could not locate them. We are from Bihar. He ( husband) came for duty at 8 am (on Monday),” she told PTI videos.
The teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Safety Services, and the Hyderabad Disaster Management and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) are still clearing the debris to retrieve the bodies, if any, trapped under it.
A special forensic team from Osmania General Hospital was brought in to assist with post-mortems examinations and DNA sample collection. “So far, autopsies have been completed on 15 bodies and as many as 11 bodies have been identified. They would be handed over to their respective families,” the official said.
The chief minister emphasized that the officials should conduct inspections in chemical companies to identify shortcomings to prevent such big fire accidents and also submit a report on the safety measures taken in the companies immediately.
Revanth Reddy described it as utter carelessness on the part of the Sigachi Industries management to avoid calling on the victims’ families even after such a major disaster. “None of the persons in the top management of the company bothered to visit the accident site in the last 24 hours. What kind of assurance the management has given to the victims’ families? We will identify those responsible for the incident and take stringent action against the company management,” he said.
State minister D Sreedhar Babu said it was unfortunate that the top management of the company did not find time to personally oversee the rescue operations. “Our ministers are camping here coordinating the efforts. If your company MD is so preoccupied, why should he run factories?” he asked.
Revanth Reddy said the state government will also bring a transparent policy to prevent such incidents in the future, the chief minister said he already ordered officials to conduct periodic inspections in companies to avert fire accidents.