Tiruchi explosives unit blast toll rises to 19, no trace of bodies

The impact of the blast was so high that victims were torn into pieces.

December 03, 2016 09:46 am | Updated 09:46 am IST - TIRUCHI:

Search operation by fire fighters and police carried out on the campus of Vetrivel Explosives at T. Murungapatti in the district on Friday to trace the bodies of victims killed on Thursday’s massive explosion proved futile.

Teams of fire fighters, police and officials carried out a thorough search on the premises of the unit situated in an acre of 160 acres but could only find a lump of flesh. On Thursday, the body of a victim and a mutilated body of another was recovered. The impact of the blast was so high that victims were torn into pieces and only parts of human limbs and flesh were left strewn around. The exercise was carried out for over two hours in the morning.

Meanwhile, officials announced that the death toll in the Thursday's blast had risen to 19 on Friday. After a verification of workers reported to have been present at the unit at the time of blast, it was confirmed that one more person had died. The victim was identified as Pravinkumar (25) of Sentharapatti in Salem district.

“No body could be found during the search operations by the teams on Friday,” Deputy Director of Fire and Rescue Services, Tiruchi, K. Sathyanarayanan told The Hindu . Only a piece of flesh could be found at one of the spots, he said.

Over 30 fire fighters were involved in the exercise on Friday as well to locate if there were any bodies inside. A similar exercise was conducted right through Thursday.

A group of villagers assembled at the entrance of the factory, which was kept out of bounds for public and the media, on Friday. Some of the relatives of victims wanted access inside the factory to allow them carry soil from the blast site to pay their respects as the bodies could not be found.

However, curbs were imposed on entering the factory premises as explosive teams and a Crime Branch CID team conducted inquiries inside the unit. This upset the villagers who kept waiting at the factory entrance for several hours braving the incessant drizzle. Later, they left the spot and staged a road roko, upset over the action of the officials.

Fire fighters said the biggest task was to find out ways and means of taking out huge stock of raw materials and chemical substances out of the factory premises and depositing them in a safe place.

There was a huge tank containing nitric acid inside which needed to be neutralised, Mr.Sathyanarayanan said adding that an expert team was on the job.

A senior official attached to the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation said the expert team had secured the site on Friday and were analysing ways of taking the explosive substances inside the unit to a safe place.

The team of experts from Sivakasi, Chennai and Vellore were at the plant on Friday to ensure that there was no further explosion inside the unit.

The team would continue their operation on Saturday, the official said.

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