Disfigured beyond recognition

By Our Staff Reporter

VELLORE, AUG. 16. One of the challenging but distressing aspect of the tragedy at the Tamil Nadu Explosives Ltd. (TEL) was the impediment faced by the colleagues and relatives in identifying the bodies of the deceased.

The bodies of the workers in building no. 302 housing the detonator unit at the time of the accident were ripped apart, with the heads, trunks and limbs dismembered and crushed under the falling debris.

Of the 13 bodies brought to the Government Pentland Hospital (GPH) mortuary, only nine could be identified, that too with great difficulty. The remaining four bodies could not be identified since the faces were disfigured beyond recognition and the available parts of the bodies were in a crushed state.

The scene in front of the mortuary and police outpost in the GPH presented a tragic picutre with relatives wailing over the their dead. Women were seen sobbing uncontrollably.

One of the ironic features was that a woman trainee worker, P. Bhavani of Ariyoor village, who along with two other women workers, S. Devaki of Keezhvallam and M. Nirmala of Sadupperi village, came out of the adjacent building no.301 to draw water from a handpump was killed on the spot on the impact of the flying debris. She was employed on compassionate grounds on the death of her husband.

The bodies that were identified were those of N.Karunanidhi and C.Ganesan of Mettukkulam; K. Harikrishnan of Ashok Nagar, Katpadi; G.Ravi and Martin John of Brammapuram; V.Ramalingam of Senoor; P.Bhavani, A.Mark Simson of Agravaram and K.Chinnappan of Latteri. Those undergoing treatment were K. Murugesan of Karasamangalam, M. Nirmala, S. Devaki, M. Anbarasu of Thirumalai village near Latteri and R.Bhagawat Singh of Virudhambut.

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Section  : National
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