Chhattisgarh: Eight workers reported missing in explosives unit blast

At least eight workers are reported missing after the blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district on Saturday, officials said.

A tense situation prevailed on Sunday near the blast site in Pirda as villagers, particularly those who claimed their relatives were missing after the incident, staged a protest.

At least one person was killed and six others were injured in the explosion at Special Blasts Limited near Pirda village in Berla development block on Saturday, where rescuers have also found body parts.

The intensity of the blast was such that it had left about a 30-foot-deep crater, officials had said.

''Family members of eight workers have lodged the complaint with police stating they are missing after the blast at the factory'', Bemetara Superintendent of Police Ramkrishna Sahu told PTI.

Body parts have been recovered from the debris at the blast site and the rescue operation is over, he said.

''The bodies were blown into pieces in the explosion and DNA examination will be done to identify them,'' Sahu added.

Bemetara Collector Ranbir Sharma said the factory management has been instructed to provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the eight missing workers and they are instantly being given a cheque of Rs 5 lakh each (by the factory management).

''The rescue operation, involving personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and district administration, is over and the samples of body parts will be sent for DNA examination to identify the persons,'' he said.

Experts from the Jabalpur-based ordnance factory of the Army were contacted on Sunday to assist in the rescue operation, the collector added.

The compensation announced by the state government will be given after the DNA examination of the body parts is completed, Sharma said.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident and further action will be taken against those found guilty after the probe, he said.

Villagers from Borsi, Pirda and other nearby villages have set up a tent in front of the factory and are staging protests.

Police personnel are deployed around the factory premises because of the tense situation.

Some eyewitnesses had told local news channels that at least 100 people were working in the explosives manufacturing factory when the blast occurred. They had claimed several people were missing and feared trapped under the debris.

The state government has announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured, who will be treated by the government.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)