Telangana pharma unit blast: Search continues for 13 missing workers

Hyderabad, July 2 (IANS) Search for 13 missing workers following the blast at a pharmaceutical unit at Pashamyalaram near Hyderabad continued on Wednesday.

More than 48 hours after the blast at Sigachi Industries Pvt. Ltd., which claimed the lives of 36 workers, the rescue teams continued clearing debris.

According to officials, 13 workers were still missing, and it is feared that they were trapped under the debris of the three-storey building, which collapsed under the impact of the blast.

The search teams have deployed huge cranes and JCBs to clear the debris at the blast site in Pashamylaram industrial area in Sangareddy district, about 50 km from Hyderabad.

Heavy rain in the area on Tuesday night hampered the search operation. The rescue workers resumed the operation on Wednesday morning.

Personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) and police were engaged in the search operation.

The factory was rocked by a blast on Monday morning. According to officials, 143 individuals were at the factory at the time of the explosion in the Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) drying unit.

Officials have confirmed the death of 36 workers, while 34 injured workers were undergoing treatment at various hospitals. The condition of some of them remained critical.

Officials said 60 people have been accounted for, while 13 are still reported missing.

Only four of the deceased have been identified. As other victims were charred beyond recognition, the authorities continued collecting DNA samples for their identification.

Doctors at the Government Area Hospital in Patancheru conducted DNA tests on 20 bodies. The DNA samples are being collected and stored.

The DNA samples are being sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for profiling and comparison with reference samples from family members to confirm identities. If the DNA matches are confirmed with their relatives, the bodies will be handed over to them.

The majority of the victims were migrant workers from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who visited the accident site on Tuesday, announced compensation of Rs one crore each to the families of the deceased. Authorities handed over Rs one lakh cash as immediate assistance to the families of 11 victims.

The Chief Minister also announced Rs 10 lakh each for those with critical injuries and Rs 5 lakh each for other injured.

Families of all the injured were also given Rs 50,000 each as immediate assistance.

On a complaint filed by a relative of one of the victims, police registered a case against Sigachi Industries in connection with the blast.

--IANS

ms/dpb