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Kurali factory inferno: Man claims wife missing, forensic search launched
A forensic team was sent to the site on Thursday after the woman’s husband claimed that she could have been charred to death in the fire, as per deputy commissioner Aashika Jain
A forensic search has been launched for a 30-year-old female worker who has been allegedly missing since the massive fire at a chemical factory on Chanalon Road in Kurali on Wednesday.
A forensic team was sent to the site on Thursday after the woman’s husband claimed that she could have been charred to death in the fire, as per deputy commissioner Aashika Jain. Samples have been collected for further analysis.
According to Mullanpur DSP Dharamvir Singh, the woman, identified as Chanani Devi, had been working at the factory for the past three years. She has two children, aged 5 and 3.
As per her husband, Ranvir Singh, she went to work on Wednesday morning. When he learnt of the fire at the factory in the afternoon, he rushed to the factory, but could not find her. He also looked for her among the injured at the civil hospital in Phase 6, Mohali, and Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, but in vain.
He said the unit where his wife worked at the factory was gutted in the flames. Following this, a forensic team visited the site and collected samples.
Short-circuit suspected to be behind blaze
Kharar fire officer Kaur Singh said prima facie, the fire appeared to have been caused due to a short-circuit. The factory workers narrated that women workers were busy packing turpentine oil, used for producing wood varnish, in small bottles. Suddenly, due to a short-circuit, a drum containing highly inflammable chemicals caught fire and in no time, the flames engulfed the entire unit.
Five women workers were injured in the mishap, two of them critically with 50% and 70% burns. Identified as Sandhya and Anju, they are under treatment at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh.
DC Jain said though the fire was controlled by Wednesday evening, smoke was still rising from the debris. Kharar SDM (officiating charge) Davy Goyal was sent to the site to oversee the situation and Kharar tehsildar Jaswinder Singh to the hospital to check on the injured workers.
A magisterial probe into the incident has been marked to additional deputy commissioner (General) Viraj S Tidke.
In view of the upcoming festive season, she appealed to all commercial offices and industrial units in Mohali to ensure adequate safety measures on their premises to avoid any untoward incident. She has also issued instructions to all SDMs and civic bodies to carry out inspections in all vulnerable areas.
