Bhubaneswar: The death toll of Odia migrant workers in the ammonia gas leak tragedy at a seafood processing factory in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district rose to eight on Wednesday after another woman from Odisha’s Keonjhar district succumbed to her sickness during treatment.The deceased has been identified as Subasi Juanga of Kuntla village under Harichandanpur block of Keonjhar district, according to a bulletin issued by Tamil Nadu health department.Subasi was among dozens of workers exposed to toxic ammonia gas following the leak at the factory on June 21. Like the other deceased workers from Odisha, she too belonged to the Juang Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, and had migrated to Tamil Nadu in search of employment through a middleman.Of the 10 workers who have died so far, eight were from Odisha and two from Assam. Odisha also accounts for the highest number of workers, mostly women, falling sick in the incident.According to the latest update from the Tamil Nadu govt, 68 affected workers are undergoing treatment at four healthcare facilities across the state. Of them, 33 are from Odisha, the highest among all affected states.State labour commissioner Indramani Tripathy said six of the 33 sick Odia labourers are on ventilator support, while eight others are being treated in intensive care units. Their condition is being closely monitored by a three-member Odisha govt team, currently stationed in Tamil Nadu. The remaining patients are from Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.Meanwhile, several other Odia labourers, who were employed at the seafood processing unit but not affected by the gas leak, are now stranded without work, with the factory remaining shut following the accident. Many of them now seek to return home.“Our focus is also on bringing back around 60 migrant workers from Odisha who had been working at the factory but were not affected by the gas leak. Since the unit has been shut down, they are now without work, and have expressed a desire to return home. The state govt is working out the modalities for their return,” Tripathy said.Meanwhile, the bodies of two deceased workers, Jamini Juanga and Sujani Juanga, arrived in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday evening. From there, they were taken to their native villages for the last rites.The last rites of five other victims — Gumani Juanga, Shibani Juanga, Geeta Juanga, Phulomani Juanga and Champabati Juanga — were conducted earlier at their respective villages in Keonjhar district in the presence of family members, local residents and govt officials.Keonjhar MP Ananta Nayak paid tribute to the deceased and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
