Two days after the devastating blast in the Solar Industries India Ltd factory at Nagpur's Bazargaon, investigators have recovered body parts of some of the 9 who perished in the tragedy, officials said on Tuesday.
Among the recoveries include four torsos, some limbs and other body parts of the 9 victims – six women and 3 men - who were virtually blown to pieces in the devastating explosion on Sunday morning.
An official said that the human body parts, mostly burnt, covered in mud and unidentifiable, were found in an area of more than 100 metres radius from the factory premises where the blast took place.
Several pieces have also been recovered in the debris of the damaged factory premises, the immediate surroundings, and some parts were flung around 100 m away from the blast site.
The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident and probes are being conducted by the Nagpur Collectorate, the Kondhali police, and the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organisation.
Till now, the police have recorded the statement of Supervisor, P.D. Ambole, who has said that he and other colleagues in the morning shift were working in the Cast Booster house where the blast occurred around 8.45 am.
So powerful was the impact of the explosion that it was heard several kilometres away and many homes were shaken in the vicinity, scaring the residents who rushed out.
Soon after the explosion ripped through the factory, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Opposition leaders and other representatives visited the area and ordered rescue and relief operations.
The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, while the company will also give another Rs 20 lakh.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, Nationalist Congress Party-SP's ex-minister Anil Deshmukh, Shiv Sena-UBT's Kishore Tiwari and other leaders have demanded a compensation of at least Rs 50 lakh for the families of the nine victims killed in the tragedy.
Meanwhile, tentative plans by the local administration to perform a mass cremation of the unidentified body parts has been opposed by the victims' kin after which the police are considering taking samples of the relatives for DNA analysis.
(With inputs from IANS)
