Jhajjar boiler blast death toll rises to 6
As many as 11 factories had collapsed due to the impact of the explosion
The death toll in the Jhajjar factory boiler blast rose to six on Saturday with the rescue teams finding two more bodies trapped under the debris. The count of the injured has reached 34.
Jhajjar deputy commissioner (DC) Jitender Kumar said efforts were on to pull out the bodies. He added, “We are making all efforts to clear the debris in the area. Many of the injured have also been discharged from the hospital.”
As per officials, as many as 11 factories had collapsed due to the impact of the explosion in the boiler of the chemical factory in Bahadurgarh town.
Family members of labourers, however, reached the spot and said that three men were still missing.
“We suspect that members of our families are still trapped inside the factories. The authorities should use better machines instead of earthmovers to clear the debris,” said the angry family members.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The Jhajjar district administration has been told to bear the treatment expenditure of the injured.
A 40-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team from Ghaziabad and state disaster response force from Bhondsi are helping the fire department to carry out the rescue operation.
“Two or three people may still be trapped in the factories and efforts are being made to take them out,” said a district official. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
