Khartoum: Eighteen Indians were feared killed in an LPG tanker blast in a ceramic factory in Sudan. While there was no official confirmation of the deaths, mainly because many bodies were badly burned, the Indian embassy in Khartoum released a list of 16 Indians who are missing. Twenty-three people were killed in the blast at the Seela Ceramic Factory.
The embassy clarified that some of the missing may be in the list of dead which it was yet to receive. “As per the latest reports, but so far not confirmed officially, 18 are dead,’’ it said. The embassy also said seven people had been hospitalised, with four in critical condition. In the list of the 16 men missing, four are from Bihar and three each from UP and Tamil Nadu. The remaining are from Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
“Anguished by the blast in a ceramic factory in Sudan, where some Indian workers have lost their lives and some are injured. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured. Our embassy is providing all possible assistance to those affected,” PM Narendra Modi tweeted.
About 70 Indians were employed with the ceramic factory in Khartoum Bahri. At least 34 Indians who survived have been accommodated at the Saloomi Ceramics Factory residence. “Deeply grieved to learn that some Indian workers have lost their lives while some others have been seriously injured," foreign minister S Jaishankar tweeted.
“The embassy representative has rushed to the site. A 24-hour emergency hotline +249-921917471 has been set up by our embassy in Khartoum. The embassy is also putting out updates on social media. Our prayers are with the workers and their families,” he added.
A report quoted the Sudanese government as saying that more than 130 injured in the incident, which, according to preliminary reports, indicated that necessary safety equipment was missing at the site. “There were also inflammable material improperly stored, which led to the spread of the fire,” the government said, adding that an investigation had been launched.
