Confusion continues over missing workers, slow rescue operations at Sangareddy chemical blast site

Two days after the Sigachi Chloro Chemicals blast in Sangareddy, confusion persists over the number of workers present and missing, while families wait in distress amid slow rescue operations and the absence of district officials from the scene.

Sangareddy: A sluggish and poorly coordinated rescue operation at Sigachi Chloro Chemicals Private Limited left family members of missing employees waiting in distress even 48 hours after the explosion.

Heavy rains, coupled with what many described as the apathy of officials, further hampered rescue efforts. Grieving relatives continued to move between the blast site, the mortuary at the government hospital in Patancheru and various private hospitals where the injured were undergoing treatment.

Adding to the confusion was the lack of clarity over the number of workers present at the unit on the day of the explosion. A fresh attendance sheet maintained by the Sigachi management, which surfaced on Wednesday, listed 162 employees on duty. However, the district administration’s report put the figure at 143.

Officials of the district administration were conspicuously absent from the ongoing rescue efforts, which were being carried out only by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Hyderabad Disaster Response and Fire Services (HYDRAA), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).