SANGAREDDY: District Collector P Pravinya on Friday announced that the rescue operations at Sigachi Chemicals will continue until the nine missing persons are traced.
“The rescue teams have been working at the blast site and will continue until all the missing persons are accounted for. Personal belongings and the remains of the bodies, including bones, will be collected and sent to the forensic lab for examination. Special teams are sifting through the debris dumped in an open area outside the factory premises. DNA tests will be conducted to identify the deceased,” the collector said, adding that so far, the deaths of 39 persons have been confirmed, while five bodies are yet to be identified. According to her, 23 persons are undergoing treatment in hospitals.
Stating that a special help centre has been set up at Pashamylaram to assist the relatives of the victims and missing persons, Pravinya said those who are under treatment at the hospitals are being given required counselling, and their families are being updated on their progress.
The collector stated that once DNA reports arrive and if they match with the bodies, the remains will be handed over to their relatives and sent to their native places with police escort. In a related development, Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj clarified that debris clearance was almost complete and no additional bodies were found.
“The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has cleared most of the debris, and no additional bodies have been found. We are still verifying the list of missing persons,” he said. He added that one team each from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and HYDRAA remain stationed at the site as a precautionary measure in case of any emergency.
Woman falls at collector’s feet for info on her brother
Though most of the deceased in the blast at Sigachi Chemicals at Pashamylaram have been identified, the lack of clarity on missing persons is still causing confusion among relatives who came from far-off places.
They were worried whether they would be able to collect at least the mutilated body parts or asthikas (bones) of their relatives.
A woman who had travelled from a distant place, exhausted from waiting to know about the fate of her brother, touched District Collector P Pravinya’s feet, pleading, “How long will this agonising wait last?” Everyone was shocked by the sudden emotional outburst. Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj and others immediately lifted her and consoled her.
The collector assured her that officials were making every effort to trace the missing persons and that they would provide all necessary support to the victims’ families.