Almost all the survivors in the deadly cracker unit blast on the outskirts of Nellore ended up sustaining more than 80 per cent burns, leaving little chance for the officials to question them to find out the immediate cause of the explosion.
The owner of the small cracker unit, Bhaskaraiah, is stated to have gone into hiding following the blast.
Srikanth alias Lakshman, 16, was fortunate as he had escaped with 10 to 15 per cent burns. But he too was unable to speak about the incident clearly as he suffered burns on his face and head.
The police and the fire department officials are left with no immediate eye witness account to come to a preliminary assessment on the cause of the blast. But they are sure that use of bulk explosive materials such as magnesium and phosphorous in unsafe conditions might have triggered the explosion.
At the DSR Government General Hospital and Narayana Hospital, family members and the relatives of the victims gathered in large numbers.
Heart-touching scenes were seen as family members of the deceased workers wept inconsolably.
Polaiah, whose house is located about a kilometre away from the blast spot, told The Hindu that he was in his house at the time of blast, and he ran out screaming after hearing a deafening sound. He thought that there was an earthquake, but soon realised that there were no further such loud sounds.
When some people were rushing towards the cracker unit, Polaiah also went there only to see the massive damage caused there.
Venkaiah, whose sheep shed is located just 10 to 15 feet away from the blast site, was away buying fodder when the blast took place. His 21-year-old brother-in-law Srikanth was among the victims. The sheep shed is intact.
The poor tribal people, most of them youth, hoped to make the most of the festival-eve work and went to work daily from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The New Year celebrations, the coming Sankranti and Bhogi hold high demand for these crackers locally and also from other parts of the State.
The cracker unit run in just 150 sq yards area is located in an isolated, interior area in the midst of bushes and paddy fields adjoining the Penna river bund in Porlukatta on Nellore outskirts.
It is suspected that many more such small scale cracker units employing daily wage workers up to 10 to 15 are illegally operating in this area as it is safe for them and away from the public gaze and official scrutiny.
Hundreds of ‘Challa Yanadi’ tribal people live in huts and slums in the area close to these cracker units. Many of them earn a portion of their livelihoods by working in the cracker units often.
