The Unchahar explosion could have happened as the boiler got over-heated and did not get an outlet for the extra pressure to be released, said Director General, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Sanjay Kumar.
“Due to the extreme pressure inside, the boiler could have exploded as there was no outlet for the pressure to be released. The liquid was extremely hot and it was easily above 250°C when it exploded,” Mr. Kumar said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General Sanjay Kumar said the accident site was covered with heavy smoke and was still smouldering when the team reached there in the evening, hours after the incident was reported.
“Most bodies were charred beyond recognition. The deaths could have been instant due to the impact of the blast. By the time we reached most bodies had been taken out but the site was still covered in a ball of dust,” said Mr. Kumar.
“We used victim detection cameras and located one body that was lying under a metal sheet, around 50 ft away from the boiler. Maybe the person was flung to a distance due to the impact of being hit by a sudden burst of hot liquid. Our camera captured the hand and that is how we came to know that the body was stuck there,” said NDRF Inspector Dharmendra Pandey who led the operation.
He said that they used metal cutters and other instruments to pull out the body.
The deceased was identified as a 23-year-old resident from Jharkhand.
