In a tragic incident, five labourers were charred to death in a massive factory blast in Abhanpur area, about 35 km from here, police said on Friday.
The blast rocked the Navbharat Fuse Company ltd, a manufacturer of explosives, detonators and electrical fuse, in the wee hours on Friday when workers were in deep sleep inside the plant.The explosion was so intense that half of the factory building was reduced to ashes and workers bodies were recovered in pieces.
“The explosion occurred in the explosive stored in the factory while forensic experts are striving to find out the exact cause of the blast,” Superintendent of Police, OP Pal, told The Pioneer. The explosion hit the plant at around 2.30 am - 3.00 am.Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raman Singh has ordered a probe into the death of workers and said that deceased families must be financially backed up by the factory management. Opposition Congress has also called for a fair probe into the matter and sought action against the plant authorities for alleged laxity.
Factory management which is initially blamed for deadly lapses that caused the blast, has announced financial aid of Rs2.25 lakh for family members to each of the deceased workers.The factory manufactures detonators and fuses used in controlled explosions and a large amount of explosive, fuses and other chemicals were stocked in the factory when blast rocked the building.
The sound of the massive blast woke up residents of Urla village who found a huge fire being billowed out from the factory. The local residents were first rushed to the site for rescue work and later a police team reached which pulled out the charred bodies in pieces from the demolished plant which was in operation since 1988.
The deceased have been identified as Komal Singh Thakur, a resident of Ghatapara, Rekhram Sahu, a resident of Abhanpur, Ganeesh Harvansh, a resident of Bade Urla, Makhanlal Nirmalkar, a resident of Bade Urla and Punamram Yadav, a resident of Abhanpur.
Dozens of agitated workers held demonstrations near the factory throughout on Friday and accused the plant management of compromising on workers' safety. The protest was withdrawn only after police assured stringent action against the plant management.