NEWSPost India

The toll in the acid tank explosion at the Aravangadu ordnance factory near here today increased with the recovery of mutilated body parts of four workers. Their bodies were blown to pieces in the powerful explosion that brought down the dough-making unit of the cordite factory yesterday, officials said.

Search and rescue operations for the four missing workers, who were in the unit at the time of the explosion, only yielded body parts, they said. The body of one worker was extricated from the debris and another seriously injured pulled out yesterday. Ten other workers sustained minor injuries in the incident. One worker Balasubramani was identified by his family with the help of a black thread tied on a wrist. Other deceased were identified as Anandan, Gopi, Subramani and Jeyaraj, they said.

The seriously injured worker was admitted to the factory hospital. Production in the nearly 107-year-old factory, the country”s first smokeless propellant factory, was stopped as a mark of respect to the departed and also to allow the staff to participate in the last rites, sources said. The impact of the explosion was felt in areas in the vicinity of the factory as window panes and glasses in houses and bakeries were shattered.

Ballistic and chemical experts are expected to reach the factory to ascertain the cause of the blast, they said. Employees of the factory and others paid homage to the photographs of the five victims that were kept in front of the factory.