Telangana plant explosion: 9 people still missing, expert panel to visit site

As many as nine people are still missing in the explosion at the Sigachi Industries' pharma plant in Pashamylaram that claimed at least 38 lives and left 35 injured, and efforts are on to trace the missing people, superintendent of police (SP) of this district, Paritosh Pankaj, said on Thursday, 3 July.

Meanwhile, the expert committee appointed by the state government to ascertain the causes and establish the sequence of events that led to the explosion is expected to visit the site on Thursday.

The panel should submit a detailed report with specific suggestions and recommendations, within a month, to the government.

The committee will be headed by Dr B. Venkateswar Rao, Emeritus Scientist, at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology.

A senior official of the district said some injured who are undergoing treatment in various hospitals are likely to be discharged today.

"Death toll remains at 38. Nine people are missing. But maybe today or tomorrow, once we get the reports of bones and other things from FSL (Forensic Science Lab), then things will be clear," SP Pankaj told PTI.

He said 90 per cent of the debris removal was over and is not anticipating any bodies to surface further.

He, however, said some human remains may surface, and as and when they come up, they will be sent for examination.

Amit Raj Sinha, managing director & CEO of Sigachi, on Wednesday denied the allegations that the firm had used old machinery.

He said the facility was old, but not the machinery.

Sinha, ruling out a reactor explosion at the plant, opined that a dust explosion in the dryer section could have caused the havoc.

Sigahci announced a solatium of Rs 1 crore each to the kin of the deceased.