Officials carry a body as the death toll in the chemical factory blast rises to nine with the discovery of one more body from the accident site at Dombivli, in Thane district, Friday, May 24, 2024.
Credit : PTI Photo
Thane: Amid his frantic search for his wife, who worked in the Amudan Chemicals factory in Dombivli, Amit Khanvilkar received a call asking him to visit the Shastri Nagar hospital in the area on Thursday.
At the hospital, Amit went numb after he was shown the bodies of two women, charred beyond recognition. He somehow maintained his composure to look at the bodies from head to toe.
Amit told the media at the hospital that he nearly went blank after his eyes fell on a finger of one of the two victims.
From the ring on the finger, Amit knew it was his wife Riddhi Amit Khanvilkar (38), the mother of his 12-year-old son.
Riddhi worked at Amudan Chemicals, located in Phase 2 of Dombivli MIDC, where a blast and resultant fire on Thursday killed nine and injured over 60. She had joined the accounts department of the company just three months ago.
Amit (42), who works in a lab in Palghar, said he was at their home in the Manpada area of Dombivli when he learnt about the blast.
He called Riddhi but could not get through to her. “I informed my friends and we circulated her pictures on social media,” he said.
Amit said he then received a call from the civic-run Shastri Nagar hospital where he was shown two charred bodies. He identified one of them to be of Riddhi from a gold ring on her finger.
Amit said the blast has turned his world upside down.
The family of Rohini Kadam (23), who worked with Riddhi, also identified her body at the hospital. Rohini lived with her parents and siblings at Ajde village in Manpada. Her inconsolable family members said Rohini and Riddhi lost their lives for no fault.