Company Executives Missing As Revanth Reddy Visits Telangana Factory Blast Site

A day after 36 people were killed in a massive explosion in a pharmaceutical unit of Sigachi Industries at Pashamylaram near Hyderabad, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy arrived at the accident site with his team of ministers and officials.

How can the top management be missing from the accident site one day after the most terrible industrial tragedy in Telangana's history, asked the Chief Minister.

Mr Reddy said the government would bear the entire cost of medical care for the injured.

"We will identify those responsible for the disaster and take stringent action," he assured.

Inspecting the accident site, he held a meeting to review the rescue operations.

The Chief Minister ordered company officials that Rs one crore compensation be given to families who lost a loved one in the accident.

"We must not look at the technicalities but in a humane manner reach out to help," he told company officials.

"How many were skilled and how many unskilled? Where were they from?" the Chief Minister asked company officials, who said they were unable to get clarity as the person who maintained the attendance register was killed in the accident.

"We will take care of all the families. I want to assure those who have lost a loved one, got injured, you and your families will get our full support, including education support for children. The collector has been ordered to immediately pay out Rs one lakh to the families of those who died, to cope with this dire situation," Chief Minister Revanth Reddy told NDTV.

Mr Reddy met with grieving families and also those injured and being treated in the hospital.

"We have some preliminary information but right now I don't want to talk about the cause of the accident. We will wait for our probe committee to go into details," the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said over 140 people had been on the morning shift and a few people are still missing.

Over 36 hours after the industrial blast in Telangana's Sangareddy district, search operations are still on for the missing at the accident site, where already big mounds of debris, mangled metal and concrete have filled up the entire compound.

Though speculation is that the death count may even touch 50, as of now district collector Pravinya has put the figure at 36 still late evening on Tuesday, of which 14 were identified.

The remaining samples have been sent for analysis and that may take 24-48 hours.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), HYDRAA, and Telangana Fire Disaster Response continue to search for individuals believed to be trapped under the debris of the collapsed factory building. This incident is being described as potentially one of the worst industrial accidents in Telangana's history.

The explosion, which occurred around 9:15 AM at the pharmaceutical unit that manufactures microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), caused widespread damage and a massive fire. Witnesses reported that the force of the blast was so intense that some workers were thrown nearly 100 meters away.

On Monday, the Chief Minister had ordered a high-level, five-member committee to review and probe the incident. The committee comprises the Chief Secretary, Special Chief Secretary-Disaster Management, Principal Secretary (Labour), Principal Secretary (Health), and Additional DGP (Fire Services).

This committee is tasked not only with investigating the underlying causes of this accident but also with recommending measures to prevent such accidents in the future.

The Chief Minister also directed officials to conduct comprehensive inspections in all chemical companies across the state to identify shortcomings and prevent such accidents.

Many of the victims were migrant labourers from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha.

The intensity of the blast and the subsequent fire have left many bodies charred beyond recognition, making identification a challenge. Only 14 bodies have been identified so far, and DNA testing will be done to ascertain the identities of the remaining victims.

Among those reported missing (and feared killed) is a newly wed Telugu couple. 24-year-old Nikhil Kumar Reddy and 22-year-old Sri Ramya from Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh had a love marriage two months ago and had only recently shifted to Hyderabad to earn their livelihood.

On Monday, Mainuddin Khan from Bihar, had told NDTV his wife Ruksaar was working in the drying unit and was missing. "We have five young daughters and two sons, what will I tell them?" By night, Ruksaar Begum was in the list of dead.

Reports say over 140 workers were on duty at the time of the explosion and 57 reportedly escaped unhurt.

26-year-old Pooja, eight months pregnant, carrying her 18-month baby, was waiting since Monday afternoon outside the factory. She would not listen to anyone suggesting she get some rest or have something to eat. "All I want is a glimpse of my husband," she told NDTV.

Four members of her family have gone missing after the accident. 19-year-old Ajay Mondal was another missing person for whom family members were waiting in vain.

For 20-year-old Justin, it had been his first day at work. "On Saturday, he had an interview. They asked him to join on Monday. He went in the morning and never came out," said his cousin Mark, even as his aunts wailed in grief.

Some others refused to believe their loved one was no more and grew aggressive, threatening to fling stones at the police trying to ensure the search and rescue operation went on unhindered.

Preliminary reports suggest that "pressure building up inside the spray dryer" could have triggered the explosion, with fine dust chemical particles accelerating the blast and fire. Labour Minister G. Vivek initially stated that prima facie, it was not a reactor blast, but rather a problem in the air dryer system.

The ongoing probe will aim to determine if there were any safety lapses or negligence on the part of the factory management. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of regular inspections by both industry management and government officials, particularly given that the Sangareddy-Pashamylaram industrial corridor has witnessed fatal incidents previously.

Bihar has also sent a three-member committee to investigate the incident, as two victims and 16 injured workers were from the state.

The Bihar government has announced an additional compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the families of each deceased worker and Rs 50,000 for each injured worker from Bihar, along with Rs 2 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the dead.