Raulgaon SBL Energy blast toll rises to 20

Nagpur: The death toll from the massive explosion at an industrial explosives factory in Raulgaon village in Kalmeshwar taluka of Nagpur district climbed to 20 on Friday. Durga Sevatkar, who had suffered severe burns in the March 1 explosion in the crimping unit of SBL Energy Ltd, succumbed while undergoing treatment.Sevatkar (42), who sustained nearly 60% burn injuries in the explosion, died at around 8.13am on Friday. Officials said she died due to septicaemia caused by complications arising from the burn injuries suffered in the blast. Sevatkar's postmortem was conducted at the mortuary of GMCH, Nagpur, following which the body was handed over to her relatives on Friday afternoon. Sevatkar was the second worker to die while undergoing treatment. Earlier, Ranjana Ghagre (34) succumbed to her injuries on Monday after battling for life for nearly 24 hours.Meanwhile, the remaining 17 injured workers continue to receive treatment at a private hospital. Doctors said the patients suffered burn injuries ranging between 30% and 70% and are under close monitoring as efforts continue to stabilise their condition.Police have registered case against 21 directors and shareholders of the company and arrested 11 of them. Lookout notices have been issued to nab remaining persons. Two teams of the local crime branch fanned out to different locations in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra to nab those on the run.The devastating accident unfolded sometime between 7am and 7.15am on March 1 in the detonator packing unit (building 16B), where 30-35 workers, mostly women, were present. The blast, which was heard several kilometres away, triggered massive flames, collapsed structures, and scattered debris across the site. Many of the injured are undergoing treatment.