Blast in Telangana Factory Claims Lives of Odisha Workers

Bhubaneswar/Berhampur (Odisha), Jul 3 (PTI) - Four workers from Odisha were among those killed in a devastating blast at a factory in Telangana, while five others from the state remain missing. Their families have traveled to the site for DNA identification.

Family members of four missing workers have already provided DNA samples for identification, while the family of the fifth person is expected to arrive shortly.

The missing individuals include two from Nabarangpur district, two from Ganjam, and one from Cuttack. The remains of those confirmed deceased have been returned to Odisha.

The tragic event in Sangareddy district on June 30 has so far claimed 38 lives, injuring many more, after a violent explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Pashamylaram.

"The administration informed that 143 people were on duty at the time of the explosion. Among them, several were from Odisha: four deceased, four injured with one in critical condition, and five unaccounted for," reported Pritish Panda, Officer on Special Duty, Directorate of Odisha Parivaar.

The deceased from Odisha include R Jaganmohan from Ganjam district, Lagnajit Duari from Cuttack district, Manoj Rout from Balasore district, and Dolagovind Sahu from Jajpur.

The injured are Samir Padhi from Ganjam, Chandan Kumar Nayak from Bhadrak, Nilambar Bhadra from Nabarangpur, and Chitrasen Batra. Samir Padhi remains in critical condition, suffering from 35% burns and is currently in the ICU.

Officer Panda, along with another official, is present in Sangareddy to support affected individuals and coordinate the return of the deceased to their home districts in Odisha.

The body of Jaganmohan returned to his residence in Chhatrapur, Ganjam, on Wednesday. Locals, his family, and officials, including Chhatrapur MLA Krushna Chandra Nayak, visited to offer condolences.

Accompanied by his wife Vijayalaxmi and their two sons, who had been residing in Hyderabad for over two decades, Jaganmohan’s family brought his body back via ambulance to conduct the last rites.

Jaganmohan had been an accounts worker at the factory for over twenty years and was inside during the explosion, according to his elder son R Sai Yashwanth. "We rushed to the plant immediately but found only his charred remains," he said. His body was sent on Tuesday, arriving in Odisha early Wednesday, with the Telangana government providing Rs 1 lakh for funeral expenses.

Samir Padhy, another victim, is fighting for his life in a Hyderabad hospital. The 24-year-old machine operator from Baharapur, Ganjam, joined the factory workforce seven years earlier.

The explosion occurred shortly after Samir entered the premises, explained Papu Kumar Choudhury, Samir’s brother-in-law, who also worked there. "We entered just 10 to 15 minutes before the blast. I exited when an initial explosion occurred and survived," Choudhury shared. The aftermath left the plant shrouded in smoke, trapping many inside.

Papu recounted that Lagnajit Duari from Cuttack, along with a colleague from Bihar, was working in the same section as him. Both were unable to evacuate in time and perished in the blaze.

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