Telangana pharma unit blast: Death toll rises to 39

Hyderabad, July 4 (IANS) The death toll in the fire and explosion at Sigachi Industries Ltd's manufacturing unit in Pashamylaram near Hyderabad rose to 39 on Friday as one of the injured succumbed at a hospital.

Bheem Rao, one of the injured workers undergoing treatment at Dhruva Hospital at Patancheru, died on Friday. He was a native of Maharashtra.

Sigachi Industries on Thursday revised the number of dead to 38 from 40 it had announced.

The company also stated that out of the 33 injured team members, 12 have been discharged, each provided with Rs 1 lakh as interim relief. It has already announced that it will provide full medical and rehabilitation support to the injured employees.

The company also stated that an investigation is ongoing, led by the Chief Secretary to the Government of Telangana, for review and investigation of the incident and its underlying causes. Preliminary investigation findings are expected within seven days.

Sangareddy District Collector P. Pravinya said 31 bodies have been identified so far. Nine workers remained missing.

She said out of 143 people who were in the factory premises at the time of the blast, 61 came out safely.

The rescue teams on Thursday found 20 pieces of skeletal remains during a fresh combing of the debris. The remains were sent to a forensic science laboratory for DNA matching.

According to Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj, 95 per cent of DNA collection has been done. The remaining will be completed as soon as families reach Sangareddy.

The high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary is scheduled to visit the accident site on Friday.

The state committee has been asked to probe the disaster and its underlying causes. It comprises the Chief Secretary, Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management), Principal Secretary (Labour), Principal Secretary (Health) and Additional DGP (Fire Services).

The state government also constituted a four-member expert committee. The committee, to be headed by B. Venkateshwar Rao, Emeritus Scientist, CSIR-IICT, will identify the causes and establish the reasons and events that led to the major explosion.

The members of the committee are T. Prathap Kumar, Chief Scientist, CSIR-IICT, Surya Narayana, retired scientist, CSIR-CLRI and Santosh Ghuge, Safety Officer, CSIR-NCL, Pune.

A major explosion occurred in the plant in Pashamylaram, Patancheru Mandal, Sangareddy district on June 30. The plant manufactures Microcrystalline Cellulose powder, which is used in tablets and capsules as a binding agent.

--IANS