Experts’ Team Visits Kakinada for Cracker Blast Probe
Experts assess causes, safety lapses and response in Vetlapalem tragedy
Kakinada: A two-member team from the National Disaster Management Authority conducted a probe in Kakinada district on April 6 and 7 into the massive explosion at the Sri Surya fireworks manufacturing unit in Vetlapalem in Samalkota mandal.
As part of the visit, the team, comprising senior scientists Vinod Kumar from the NDMA and Hemant Bharwani from the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, held a meeting at the collectorate with officials of the disaster-management wing here on Monday.
The experts would analyse the causes leading to the fireworks tragedy and recommend preventive measures for future safety to the central and state governments. They made inquiries vis-à-vis the permits issued for the unit, the scheduled and surprise inspections conducted by government departments there, the disaster prevention precautions observed within the unit, as also the levels of response from the authorities after the fire.
The experts are expecting a report from the environment department on the air, water and soil samples collected from the surrounding areas immediately after the incident. They sought the post-mortem and forensic reports pertaining to the 28 fatalities from the health department.
The NDMA team, accompanied by the district officials, visited the site and conducted a thorough inspection.
