Pharma unit explosion: Families in agony as search continues after blast

“Mera beta nahi mil raha!” (“I can’t find my son!”) cried Rukmini, as she rushed from one entrance of the Sigachi Industries to the other, desperately seeking answers. She refused to speak to the media and shouted at police personnel stopping people from entering the premises, pleading to be let in. Rukmini said her son, in his early twenties, had been working at the site and had not been seen since the explosion.

“More than a dozen are buried inside the rubble!,” said one of the workers. “I have three from my family inside. There are people trapped under the debris. I don’t know who is who anymore. They all are charred beyond recognition,” said the man. 

Uparmila Gosai said four members of her family, Naga, Deepak, Dileep, and Dabloo, had been working at Sigachi Industries for over a year. “Their phones are with the guard. I’ve already checked two hospitals but there’s no sign of them. I came to the site after I heard that officials were taking down names and contact numbers to update families once there’s clarity. This wait is unbearable. We have no idea where our men are,” she said, visibly shaken.

Revenue department staff on-site began recording the names and contact details of anxious relatives arriving for information.

Rani, a resident of Indramma Colony barely a kilometre from the factory, came to support her tenant, Ruksana. “Her husband works here. She’s a domestic worker and a tenant at our house. We accompanied her because she might struggle to communicate with officials due to the language barrier. She has two small children at home,” said Rani.

Another anxious visitor, a middle-aged woman, said, “My sister’s son, Ajay Mondal, just 19, from West Bengal, joined the unit two months ago. My husband and I rushed here after we saw the news about the blast. It’s well past 3 p.m. now, and we still don’t know anything.”

“What good will their money do now? My children will not get their father back. How are we supposed to send our men to work for a living when basic safety is not guaranteed?” shouted another woman as journalists tried to seek her views.