Friends, relatives, co-workers... tragic story of lives burnt beyond recognition in Pirangut fire

The mortal remains of the 17 workers who died in the Pirangut fire incident awaited identification on Tuesday, as relatives stood in a line at the Sassoon General Hospital since 11am

The mortal remains of the 17 workers who died in the Pirangut fire incident awaited identification on Tuesday, as relatives stood in a line at the Sassoon General Hospital since 11am.

HT Image

The blood relatives of the deceased wallowed in despair and the afternoon heat, as a vial of their blood was required to identify the deceased, after the fire had charred all 17 bodies beyond recognition.

Families of the victims, who were mostly women, arrived from far flung districts of Osmanabad, Beed, and Solapur, among others, to provide DNA samples.

The families also stood close to the Covid-19 treatment building of the district hospital, as the police and hospital staff failed to provide any explanation for hours.

Seven of the 17 victims, mostly women, were from Urawade village, where the company is located. Their job at the company had formed an unlikely kinship among them.

Saved by a parcel

Vainkat Kawade had left the company premises only minutes before the fire broke out and returned to billowing flames that consumed his wife on Monday.

“I had gone to drop a parcel in Pirangut itself around 3pm. Nobody told me anything. I returned and saw that sight. Our children were in a company accommodation merely a few feet away from the company. Only my wife was inside,” said Kawade. His wife, Archana Kawade (36), and her younger brother Sachin Ghodke (24), both died in the fire.

The helpless man helped them gain employment in the company. Kawade had started seeing red by the time the clock struck 3:30pm on Tuesday as neither the police, nor the hospital staff or his employer, had any answers about when he could see whatever remained of his wife.

Friendship of labour

The trio of Trishla Sambhaji Jadhav (32), Shital Dattatray Khopakar (43), and Sangitla Ulhas Gonde (43), lived in a residential area at the end of a narrow dirt path located around 4km from SVS Aqua Tech company, where they breathed their last.

“Trishla Jadhav lived in a house above ours for a long time. The fact that she had a job was quite celebrated. Our neighbour or someone in the neighbourhood who had a vehicle would drop and pick her up every day, since her employment began during lockdown when public transport was shut. Sometimes the three women walked back home together after their shift,” said Sunit Joshi (32), a housewife living in the building where Jadhav used to live.

The three were among various women who lived in the area and sought employment in the industrial units nearby.

Husband escaped, but could not save his wife

Mangal Baban Margale (29), had returned to work after sick leave of one month. She, like many women working in the company, had gained employment during the lockdown months in 2020.

Margale and her husband’s aunt Suman Sanjay Dhebe (38), worked together, along with Margale’s husband Baban Haribhau Margale (34), at the company.

“She had been working in packaging in the back room and I was in the front room. There were some routine floor tasks going on when something burst, and the fire started. We ran out the front door and assumed everyone would. By the time I realised that my wife was not among those who had come out, the fire had spread too much,” said Margale, whose eyes were blood red due to the smoke he had been around.

His uncle, Sanjay Dhebe (38), worked as a delivery executive and was lost for words. He said, “I was delivering a package when I got his call, and he was crying loudly. It was difficult to make out what he was saying. By the time I changed vehicles and reached here, the fire had engulfed everything.”

Fireman finds familiar name among victims

Rizwan Faras (26), was among the firemen who doused the fire and cooled the place down while looking for bodies that were charred beyond recognition.

Him and his friends were discussing the events of last night and looking at videos of themselves during the fire operation shot by locals. When asked about the most difficult part of the operation, Faras listed logistical problems before saying, “And then I saw a familiar name on the list. Dhanashree Shelar (22). She is a native of Nele in Javeli and is a relative of a friend of mine in Satara. She was young and had recently started working here.”

Shelar was the youngest victim of the tragedy. Her parents arrived from Satara to provide blood samples to identify her remains.