Sigachi Industries management said that the total death toll in the mishap was 40 and the total number of injured was 33.
Hyderabad The Telangana government on Wednesday constituted an expert committee to investigate the explosion that occurred in Sigachi Industries Ltd at Pashamylaram in Sangareddy district Monday claiming 38 lives and leaving 34 others injured.
The management of Sigachi Industries on Wednesday issued a statement stating the total toll in the mishap was 40 and the total number of injured was 33. It also announced payment of Rs1 crore to the families of each of the victims towards ex-gratia compensation.
“Those injured would get full medical support and rehabilitation,” Sigachi Industries Ltd company secretary Vivek Kumar said in the statement.
A government order issued by chief secretary K Ramakrishna Rao in the evening said the committee would be headed by CSIR-IICT chairman and emeritus scientist B Venkateswar Rao and comprise chief scientist from IICT T Prathap Kumar, retired scientist from central leather research institute Surya Narayana and safety officer of National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Santosh Ghuge as members.
The GO said the experts committee will identify the causes and establish reasons and the events that lead to the major explosion that occurred in Sigachi Industries on Monday.
“It shall find out whether the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for worker safety was followed or not in the industrial unit and whether there is any absence or lack of or violation of compliance of chemical and industrial processes that are required to be followed by the company management in the industrial unit,” it said.
The committee was asked to recommend a way forward to prevent such incidents in future in similar chemical and pharma industrial units. “The committee shall examine the management, staff and workers of the company, interact with various consultants, organisations and individuals during its enquiry and submit a detailed report within one month to the government,” the order said.
Meanwhile, Sigachi management said that it was actively coordinating the emergency response, offering support to families, and cooperating with the ongoing investigation and regulatory compliance processes.
The company also issued a clarification regarding the cause of the explosion. “As we await the results of the investigation, we would like to clarify that the accident was not caused by a reactor explosion at the plant, as mentioned in sections of the media,” it said.
The firm added that operations at the Pashamylaram plant would remain suspended for approximately 90 days.
The Sangareddy police, based on a complaint by a family member of one of the victims, on Monday registered an FIR against the factory management in connection with the explosion under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempting to commit culpable homicide), and 117 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of BNS.
Meanwhile, vice chairman and whole-time director of Sigachi Industries Chidambarnathan Shanmuganathan told reporters that the company will take full responsibility for the ghastly accident that took place at its Pashamylaram facility.
“We are not going to run away or shirk our responsibility. We are with every employee and we shall take care of all their needs and requirements,” he said.
Stating that Sigachi Industries had been operating for the last 35 years, Shanmuganathan said there was not a single instance of any mishap in the factory in these years. “It is our misfortune that it happened for the first time. We do not know what happened. We shall deeply discuss and find out the reasons,” he said.
Sigachi vice-chairman denied the allegations that nobody from the top management had come to the plant after the accident. He said he came to the site at around 10 am on the day of the mishap and was there for about four hours, till the rescued workers were shifted to hospitals.
“I went to different hospitals, talked to doctors and told them that the company would do whatever it could for the treatment of the injured. Even on Tuesday, I was there at the site at 4.30 am. I talked to the district collector, superintendent of police and commissioner of labour. I went back home, as I was suffering from diarrhoea, but deputed three of my senior officials to be there at the time of chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s visit to the plant,” he claimed.
Shanmuganathan said there was absolutely no negligence on the part of the management, which had taken good care of the employees and workers in the last 35 years and earned their goodwill and support. He, however, feigned ignorance about whether the plant had renewed its no-objection certificate.
On the possible reasons for the explosion, the Sigachi vice-president said he would not like to comment on that as it was for the experts to find out. “We are not ruling out anything, including the possibility of any sabotage. The experts and equipment suppliers are visiting the site to inspect. They will be able to tell what exactly happened,” he said.