Fifty-five-year-old Gurbachan Singh and 30-year-old Karnail Singh,both residents of Nangal,Punjab,could have never imagined that tragedy would strike them so suddenly. Gurbachan,who is battling for life at PGIs Advanced Trauma Centre,has received 90 per cent burns while Karnail Singh has over 65 per cent. Their family members are not sure if they will survive and are praying,sitting outside since morning. Both of them happened to be near the blast site in Khanna when high tension wires from above fell on their truck due to a powerful explosion in the chemical unit where they were sitting after half unloading it. Said Sucha Singh,brother-in-law of Gurbachan,At first we could not understand what happened. Even when we were told how due to the explosion,the high tension wires caught fire and fell on the truck and burnt it to charcoal,we still could not believe it! What if something happens to him,he is the only bread winner of his family, sobs Sucha Singh outside the Trauma Centre. Gurbachan has three daughters and a son. They were bringing a truck full of sand from Alwar,Rajasthan,to the factory in Khanna on Tuesday evening. The factory happens to be next to the chemical unit where the blast took place. These two were completely caught unaware. In fact,they had only unloaded half of the truck and were to unload the other half, said Jaswant,brother-in-law of Karnail Singh. At the Advanced Trauma Centre,the Emergency OPD witnessed hectic activity with nursing staff,ward attendants,doctors all pressed in attending to the burn victims. Owing to heavy rush,with many other patients as well in the ward,the doctors shifted the four burn victims who were in serious condition to the Disaster Ward at the ATC while the remaining burn victims were sent to the Emergency Wing. Meanwhile,12 patients,all male,with severe burns were brought to PGI this morning and three of them died at the hospital. All of them are in the age group of 20-37 The dead include Pawan,Umesh and another person whose charred body could not be identified. The 12 patients include Janardhan,Ravi,Sonu Singh,Kundan,Chaman Lal,Manjeet,Pawan,Rajinder,Umesh,Gurnaib Singh,Kanchan,Gurbhagwan Singh Other than these,Gurbachan and Karnail were brought from Rajindra Hospital,Patiala,by their family members at around noon. Also,three patients have been admitted to the emergency wing of Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32 (GMCH-32). Two of them,Govind and Manovar,are in critical condition with 100 per cent burns while another patient,Akram,has 60 per cent burns.
