Anguished by blast in Sudan's ceramic factory: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed his anguish over the blast in a ceramic factory in Sudan which claimed the lives of 23 people, including 18 Indians, and injured 130 others.

"Anguished by the blast in a ceramic factory in Sudan, where some Indian workers have lost their lives and some are injured. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured," Modi tweeted, adding that the Indian embassy in Sudan is providing all possible assistance to those affected in the incident.

As per a detailed list issued by the embassy, as many as 16 Indians remain missing after the incident, while seven have been hospitalised, of which three are in a critical condition.

"Some of the missing may be in the list of the dead which we are still to receive as identification is not possible because of the bodies being burnt," the embassy said in a statement.

The explosion occurred while a gas tanker was unloading its cargo at the factory, as per a statement by Sudan's Council of Ministers, as cited by Xinhua news agency.

Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed grief over the incident and said that the Indian embassy in Sudan has set up a 24-hour emergency hotline."Have just received the tragic news of a major blast in a ceramic factory "Saloomi" in the Bahri area of the capital Khartoum in Sudan. Deeply grieved to learn that some Indian workers have lost their lives while some others have been seriously injured," Jaishankar tweeted.

"The Embassy representative has rushed to the site. A 24-hour emergency hotline +249-921917471 has been set up by @EoI_Khartoum. Embassy is also putting out updates on social media. Our prayers are with the workers and their families," the following tweet read.