Five persons were charred to death when a major fire broke out in a cracker manufacturing unit situated in a house on the outskirts of Bijnor city on Thursday, said Bijnor superintendent of police (SP) Dharam Veer Singh.
He said the unit’s owner Mohd Yusuf has been arrested on charges of putting human life in danger and causing death due to negligence. Mohd Yusuf told the police that he had a license for cracker manufacturing, but the police are investigating possible violations of the license norms and other aspects, the SP said.
The SP said the deceased were identified Ved Pal, Chintu, Pradeep, Sonu and Brij Pal, all residents of Bakshiwala locality on the outskirts of Bijnor city.
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He said the investigation so far had revealed that the fire broke out due to a leak in the containers filled with chemical used for cracker manufacturing, adding that nine people were working at the premises at the time of the incident. They initially tried to douse the flames but failed due to lack of proper fire extinguishing equipment. He said the workers tried to escape when the flames spread but were trapped inside and charred to death. Four workers saved themselves by jumping out of the open window of the house.
He said the bodies were pulled out of the debris when fire tenders doused the flames after four hours and sent them for post-mortem examination. He said a team of forensic and fire experts had been called to the spot to ascertain the exact cause behind the fire.
{{/usCountry}}He said the bodies were pulled out of the debris when fire tenders doused the flames after four hours and sent them for post-mortem examination. He said a team of forensic and fire experts had been called to the spot to ascertain the exact cause behind the fire.
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