Three dead, two hurt in oven blast in east Delhi bakery

NEW DELHI: Three people died and two other were injured in an explosion in a bakery in East Delhi’s Khureji on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Three people died and two other were injured in an explosion in a bakery in East Delhi’s Khureji on Thursday.

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A senior Delhi Fire Services official said at 5:20 am, a local resident reported the fire at Aflatoon Market in Khureji. Eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

“Five workers were seriously injured and were pulled out of the bakery by our rescue team. They were immediately rushed to the hospital,” the official said.

Police said that around 20 people were working at the Chaudhary bakery, with five of them working inside the kitchen when an oven exploded.

The victims were all in their mid-20s who came to Delhi to work from their village in Bhadhosa district in Farrukhabad, UP.

Zainul, 22, Sajid, 21, and Nifaqat,20, succumbed to their injuries before reaching Dr Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan. They were brought to the hospital around 6 am where doctors declared them brought dead.

The two injured -- Afsar, 25 and Najrealam, 25 -- were taken to Lok Nayak Hospital in a critical condition. Najrealam was discharged later in the afternoon with a fractured arm. Afsar was admitted into the ICU with fractures in his arm and a leg along with burns.

“We have been complaining to the owners about the oven for the past one week. However, the owner neglected the matter,” he said.

“Nifaqat had been working with the bakery for five years. He lived in the bakery and often complained of falling sick because of the smoke from oven. He was under treatment for three months,” said Nifaqat’s brother.

Zainul had been working at the bakery for four years. His family members claimed that he wanted to leave the job because the owner did not listen to the workers’ grievances. A relative of Sajid said, “Police should take action against the owner for his negligence.”