4 workers from state among deceased, 5 missing in Telangana factory blast

Bhubaneswar/Kendrapada/Berhampur: Four workers from Odisha were among the 38 killed in Monday's explosion at the pharmaceutical unit of Sigachi Industries in Telangana, while five others from the state are still missing, raising fears of a higher death toll. Four other workers from Odisha are currently being treated in local hospitals.

The deceased were identified as Rajnala Jagan Mohan (55) from Ganjam, Lagnajeet Duari from Cuttack, Manoj Rout from Balasore and Dolagobinda Sahu from Jajpur.

"Efforts are on to locate the missing workers as rescue operations continue for those who may have been trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building," said Pritish Panda, officer on special duty with directorate of Odisha Parivaar, who was sent to the site by the state govt.

The missing workers are Chaita Bhadra and Ramesh Gauda from Nabarangpur, Prasant Mohapatra from Ganjam, Purna Chandra Sahu from Cuttack, and another Siddharth Gouda whose native place is yet to be confirmed.

In Ganjam's Chhatrapur, the family of Rajnala received his body on Wednesday. "We found only his charred body when we rushed to the plant," said R Sai Yashwanth, the deceased's elder son.

Dolagobinda from Jajpur's Erabanka village had worked as a fitter at the unit for four years. "We managed to identify his mangled body and transported it back to our village via ambulance," said his father, Harihar Sahu, adding that the Telangana govet provided Rs 1 lakh as compensation.

"We want punishment for the chemical factory owner who is responsible for the death of 38 people, including my brother," said Sumit Sahu, Dolagobinda's elder brother.

Samir Padhy (24), a machine operator from Baharapur, is fighting for life with 35% burns in a Hyderabad hospital's ICU. His colleague, Papu Kumar Choudhury, recalled, "I had just left the area when the first explosion occurred. The entire area was plunged into darkness with smoke, trapping several workers inside."

The bodies of the deceased have been sent to their native places by ambulances, and the injured are reported to be stable, according to officials coordinating the rescue efforts.