The death toll of Odia labourers in the explosion at Sigachi pharmaceutical factory in the Pashamylaram industrial area in Sangareddy district of Telangana climbed to four on Wednesday. Five more workers from Odisha who were present in the factory at the time of the incident are missing.
While bodies of Rajnala Jagan Mohan of Chatrapur in Ganjam and Lagnajeeth Duari of Tigiria in Cuttack were identified on Tuesday, two more Odia labourers who died in the blast are Manoj Rout from Balasore and Dolagovinda Sahu of Jajpur.
Mortal remains of the duo have been sent to their native places by the two Odisha Parivaar officials present in the neighbouring state.
The injured - Sameer Padhi of Ganjam, Chandan Kumar Naik of Bhadrak, and Neelambar Batra and Chitrasen Batra of Nabarangpur - are under treatment at Pranaam and Druva hospitals in Telangana. Condition of Sameer continues to be serious, sources said.
Officer on special duty in the directorate of Odisha Parivaar, Pritish Panda said five more Odia workers are missing. They are Chaita Bhadra and Ramesh Gauda, both of Nabarangpur, Prasant Mohapatra of Ganjam, and Siddharth Gouda and Purna Chandra Sahu of Sukarpada in Cuttack district.
He 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.
“We met Sangareddy collector P Pravinya today and as per their reports, there were around 143 workers during the time of the blast. So far, we have the confirmed list of four deaths and as many injured persons from Odisha. Five more workers who were present in the factory on the fateful day are missing,” Panda informed.
On the other hand, families of the missing workers have been doing rounds of the factory site, hospitals and mortuary. One among them is Sonali, wife of Prashant Mohapatra. She along with her three children have been approaching the police and factory officials to know his whereabouts but in vain. Her 13-year-old son gave his blood sample for DNA identification on the day but there is no confirmation yet.
Sonali, who works at a bread-making unit at Pashamylaram, said her family had shifted to Telangana three years back in search of better pay. At Sigachi, Prashant was paid Rs 700 per day.
“On Monday morning, both of us had started together for work after leaving our children in school. An hour later, some people told me that there was a blast at my husband’s factory. I rushed there to find out about his condition but the police asked me to visit the hospital. Since then, I have been running from one place to another looking for him,” said an inconsolable Sonali.
Meanwhile, Sigachi Industries on the day informed that 40 workers lost their lives in the blast and over 33 were injured. The company has committed an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore each to the kin of the deceased.