Bhubaneswar/Keonjhar: The mortal remains of five young women who died in the ammonia gas leak at a seafood processing factory in Tamil Nadu reached the Biju Patnaik International Airport here Tuesday amid a deeply emotional atmosphere.
The bodies of two other workers from the state, who died earlier Tuesday, will be brought to the state later.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was present at the airport and paid floral tributes to the deceased workers, who belonged to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) communities in Keonjhar district.
Majhi, who also hails from Keonjhar district, met the family members of the victims and expressed condolences.
He assured the victims’ families that the state government stands by them.
Earlier, Majhi announced his government’s decision to raise the ex-gratia amount for the families of the deceased workers from the state to Rs 10 lakh. On Monday, a Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia was declared.
So far, seven people, all women in the age group of 15 to 20, belonging to the PVTG Juang community, have died in the tragedy June 21.
While five women died June 21, two others succumbed Tuesday. The bodies of two other persons who died later were yet to reach the state, officials said.
The CMO, in a statement, said that Majhi expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families.
Odisha’s Labour Commissioner Indramani Tripathy said, “Two other women from Keonjhar district succumbed to illness early Tuesday, taking Odisha’s death toll in the Tamil Nadu gas tragedy to seven”.
Over 20 others from the state are also undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Tamil Nadu.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said, “The Odisha government has sent a team of officials, including a special secretary of the Labour department. I am in touch with the chief secretary of Tamil Nadu. All possible arrangements are being made for the treatment and bringing back the bodies.”
A report from Keonjhar said that a pall of gloom descended in four villages in the district after the news of the death of seven women came.
Keonjhar District Labour Officer and other officials were camping at the village and arranging the funeral of the five bodies which would arrive there at night.
The toxic industrial chemical leak occurred at a private seafood processing and export facility in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district during routine industrial operations June 21.
Of the nine people who died so far, seven were from Odisha and two from Assam.
