Nagpur: The devastating explosion at the SBL Energy factory in Raulgaon village of Katol taluka has claimed another life, pushing the death toll to 25 and deepening the tragedy that has shaken families across Nagpur district.
A 22-year-old worker, Jyoti Dhurve, who had suffered around 65% burn injuries in the powerful blast on March 1, succumbed to her injuries at 9.45 am on Sunday while undergoing treatment at Orange City Hospital and Research Institute (OCHRI)
Gold Rate
Mar 16 2026 - Time 11.45Hrs
The explosion at the SBL Energy factory in Raulgaon was so powerful that 18 workers died on the spot when the unit was ripped apart by the blast. In the days that followed, several critically injured workers battled for survival in hospitals. With Jyoti’s death, seven more victims have died during treatment, raising the toll to 25.
Hospital authorities said nine critically injured women workers are still fighting for their lives at OCHRI. Many of them sustained severe burns and continue to remain under intensive care.
Jyoti’s death has left her family shattered. Originally from Talegaon village, she had moved to Katol along with her 19-year-old brother Ajay and was living in a rented room so that both siblings could continue their education.
Their parents, Renuka and Shamu Dhurve, work as manual labourers in Talegaon, struggling daily to support the family.
According to family sources, Jyoti had discontinued her college education after the first year and joined the factory job to help finance her brother’s studies and ease the financial burden on her parents.
“She wanted her brother to study well and build a better future,” a relative said, adding that Jyoti had taken up the job purely out of responsibility towards her family.
The tragedy has cast a long shadow over several villages from where workers were employed at the factory. Many families have lost their sole breadwinners, while others continue to wait anxiously outside hospitals for news of their loved ones.
The March 1 explosion remains one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the region in recent years, raising serious questions about workplace safety and the handling of explosive materials at such units.
Even as investigations into the cause of the blast continue, the human cost of the disaster keeps rising, leaving behind grieving families, unfinished dreams, and a community struggling to come to terms with the scale of the loss.
