Large chunks of the reinforced cement concrete ceiling and walls of the single-storey firecracker warehouse in Banskantha that collapsed following a blast on Tuesday, killing 21, lied 100 feet away in the fields around the industrial estate in this region known for potato farming. As many as 19 of the bodies were identified till the press time, two bodies were unidentified and two persons were reported missing, including a woman. Seven of the dead are children, the youngest being three years old, and nine of the identified victims are women. Fire brigade and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been clearing the debris with the help of two JCB machines and two tractors, while policemen were ensuring smooth movement of government vehicles. The premises belong to Deepak Traders. Tuesday's blast also left six injured. “When we arrived here, it was totally chaotic, unimaginable . with dust from the debris and smoke billowing. As we engaged in rescue operation, we also came across some human body parts. I recovered at least 10 dead bodies during the operation,” says Bharat Mali, who is part of the Deesa Fire Brigade team, which rushed to the site following a rescue call. The premises is situated opposite to the office of Deepak Traders that has a table and four chairs and a rack with firecrackers stacked for display. The shutter of the office was blown away and pieces of glass were scattered on the floor. Another part of the factory houses godowns where products are packed. The factory is situated in Juna Deesa GIDC, which is close to Deesa Railway Station and is around 5 km away from Deesa town. Chief Officer of Deesa Nagarpalika, Gaurang Patel, was supervising the operation at the site. “I have been here since morning. The area does not fall under Deesa Nagarpalika, but is part of Juna Deesa Gram Panchayat. However, since it was a disaster, the fire brigade of Deesa Nagarpalika got a call and our teams were dispatched. The volume of the operation was so huge that teams of SDRF were called in the afternoon,” he told The Indian Express. Fire Officer, Deesa Fire Brigade, Naresh Parmar, said, “We got a call for help at 9.52 am. Our first team reached within eight minutes and the second team at 10.10 am. A huge blaze had engulfed the building. So our first priority was to douse the fire. And then we started the rescue work.” While supervising the operation, Parmar pointed his fingers at the neighbouring field where lied huge pieces of the building's ceiling and walls. “All these were part of this building (which was blown away). You can imagine how terrible the blast was.” The bodies of the deceased were sent to Deesa General Hospital. At the hospital, as people inquiring about the blast were being directed to the post-morterm room, there was shock and grief in the air. “All the bodies are at the post-morterm room and the police and district administration officials are also there,” a medical staff at the hospital said. Outside the post-morterm room, beds were laid that had bodies on them wrapped in plastic covers. The medical staffers were seen writing names of the deceased on the body bags, which were then being sent to the cold room. Banaskantha Collector Mihir Patel said, “A total 21 people have died. Six sustained injuries —three are at Deesa Civil Hospital, three at Palanpur Civil hospital. One of the three injured at Palanpur is being shifted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Of the deceased, 19 have been identified so far. DNA samples are being collected.” “Most of the deceased are from Dewas and Harda districts of Madhya Pradesh. I have spoken with the collectors of both the districts and their teams, along with relatives of the deceased, have left for Deesa. We will handover the bodies to them after the post-mortem. One of the deceased is from Bhabhar (in Banaskantha) and his family has claimed the body,” the Collector added.
