Sigachi horror: 800 degree C inferno may have incinerated eight missing workers, say officials

Even after 10 days of search operations by NDRF, SDRF and HYDRAA personnel, officials could not recover a single drop of blood, strand of hair, tooth, or any other biological trace linked to the eight missing men

Sangareddy: In a chilling turn to the Sigachi Industries accident in Sangareddy district, officials suspect that eight workers who went missing in the high-intensity blast might have been completely incinerated, as not a single trace of them has been found even after 10 days of relentless search.

Despite deploying over 1,500 personnel from the NDRF, SDRF and HYDRAA for a massive search operation, officials could not recover a single drop of blood, strand of hair, tooth, or any other biological trace linked to the eight missing men. During the combing of the debris, around 100 mutilated body parts, along with blood stains, hair strands, bones and teeth were recovered. However, none of the DNA samples sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) matched with those collected from the families of the eight missing workers.

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Officials now believe that the intensity of the blast, triggered by a technical glitch that reportedly caused machinery temperatures to spike to around 800 degrees Celsius, might have “vaporised” those who were working closest to the mishap site. Under normal operating conditions, the temperature in the air handling units and boilers is around 150 degrees Celsius.

The incident has baffled authorities, with officials admitting that despite their best efforts, they found no forensic evidence of the eight individuals at the site. In a last-ditch effort, all the debris was shifted to a different location and sifted through again, but yielded nothing.

The missing workers were identified as Rahul Kumar Sharma (Uttar Pradesh), G Venkatesh (Andhra Pradesh), S Ravi (Telangana), S Justin (Telangana), Vijay Kumar Nishad (Uttar Pradesh), Akilesh Kumar Nishad (Uttar Pradesh), Irfan Ansari (Jharkhand), and Shivaji Kumar (Bihar). Their disappearance, with no trace left behind, has left families and officials grappling with both shock and unanswered questions.