In a tragic incident, eight workers were killed and 15 injured when a boiler exploded in a chemical factory in western Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district on Saturday afternoon and a blaze engulfed the factory.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and directed the district administration and police officers to go to the spot and oversee rescue and relief measures and extend all possible help to the victims and their families.
Senior police and district administration officials were at the spot and were carrying out an investigation.
As per reports, 25 workers were present in the factory in the UPSIDC industrial area in Dholana, around 80 km from the national capital, when the incident occurred.
The impact of the explosion was so intense that the roofs of some factories located in the vicinity were also damaged.
It took three hours for the firemen to douse the blaze in the factory.
Inspector General of Police (Meerut Range) Praveen Kumar said that eight persons lost their lives in the incident.
Out of the 17 remaining workers, 15 were hospitalised while the rest suffered minor injuries.
The factory is located adjacent to a CNG pump.
According to officials, rescue and relief measures were continuing at the site and the teams were probing the cause behind the explosion.
UP Minister for Industrial Development Nand Gopal Gupta 'Nandi' expressed grief over the loss of lives.
“May God give peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear the immense loss. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” the minister said in a tweet.