Sigachi Factory Disaster Claims 35 Lives; Families Await News of Missing Loved Ones
Hyderabad latest news: In the morning hours of Monday, an explosion at Sigachi industries has left at least 42 people dead and many more injured.
Prime Minister Modi sent his condolences and announced a compensation package for the victims.
The toll due to the Telangana factory tragedy at a multi-storey chemical plant in Medak district of Telangana rose to 35 till Tuesday morning, with several workers injured and many others missing.
The rescue operations continued for the second day on Tuesday and officials said the toll was likely to increase as the rescue teams were still removing debris to search for some people trapped under the debris.
“In a major industrial accident, 35 people were killed and several are injured,” the health department in the southern state of Telangana said in a statement.
Officially confirmed 35 deaths so far in the government area hospital at Patancheru, where post-mortem was being conducted.
Workers in the plant are from different states including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
As per the directions of state health minister Damodar Raja Narsimha, health officials sent a team of forensic doctors to the area hospital to identify the bodies.
Forensic Science Laboratory has also made available its DNA analysis team to aid in the identification.
Telangana factory blast death toll of nearly 200 people from fire services, SDRF and NDRF teams have reached the site and are involved in the rescue operations.
Dryer malfunction behind Telangana factory blast
On Monday morning, a building was brought down to rubble in Pashamylaram blast at the Rs 500-crore Sigachi Industries.
Investigators believe a dryer in the quality control unit of the plant malfunctioned and led to the blast.
“General manager A Loganan, who was in-charge of attendance, was also killed. It has become difficult to know who was in the building,” a fire official said.
Loganan had just got down from his car when the blast ripped through the factory premises located around 50km from Hyderabad.