Press "Enter" to skip to content

Sudan factory fire: DMK asks Centre to retrieve bodies of 18 Indians killed in blast

DMK leader TR Baalu on Thursday requested the Centre to retrieve the bodies of the 18 Indians, including six from Tamil Nadu, who were killed in a blast in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and also provide compensation to their kin.

On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said that six of the men working at the factory were from the state. They were among those injured or missing in the blast that took place. He also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appraise regarding their situation. 

The 18 Indian workers were among 23 people killed in the LPG tanker blast at a ceramic factory in Khartoum on Tuesday. Reports stated that an LPG tanker burst into flames when docking its shipment at the ceramic factory. Some Indians have also been reported missing after the blast.

The factory also lacked necessary safety equipment and had also maintained a random storage of flammable materials, preliminary investigations showed, according to reports.

Expressing grief over the situation, the senior politician said the government should take action as quickly as possible.

“I request through you sir (Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla) that External Affairs Minister (S. Jaishankar) would kindly see that all the bodies brought as quickly as possible and proper compensation should be given by the Minister as well as the Sudan government. Six Tamil people also died in the blast,” Baalu said.

Calling it a very sad incident, BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy also urged the External Affairs Minister to bring back the bodies and facilitate compensation for their family members from Sudan government.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted on Wednesday, “Have just received the tragic news of a major blast in a ceramic factory “Saloomi” in the Bahri area of the capital Khartoum in Sudan. Deeply grieved to learn that some Indian workers have lost their lives while some others have been seriously injured. The Embassy representative has rushed to the site. A 24-hour emergency hotline +249-921917471 has been set up by @EoI_Khartoum. Embassy is also putting out updates on social media. Our prayers are with the workers and their families.”

Source: The News Minute