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Will look after dependents, IFFCO assures after 2 killed in boiler blast
In a statement on Tuesday evening, IFFCO also announced financial compensation of ₹five lakh for the families of the two victims, both of whom, it said, were contract labourers. The blast took place at IFFCO’s Phulpur unit in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj at around 1:15pm.
Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) on Tuesday said that condolence meetings will take place at 11am on Wednesday in all its plants and offices across the country after two contract labourers lost their lives in a boiler blast at its Phulpur unit in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj.
Also Read | 1 dead, over a dozen injured in boiler blast at IFFCO
“We at IFFCO deeply regret the sad and unfortunate incident that took place at around 01:15 p.m. today in the boiler at Phulpur Unit in Prayagraj. 2 contract labour lost their lives. IFFCO will take care of their dependents in the best possible manner,” it noted in a statement.
“My heart goes out to the bereaved families of Sh. Pradeep Yadav and Sh. Babuji Yadav who laid down their lives. A compensation of ₹5 Lakh has been announced and ₹1 Lakh has been paid immediately to the affected families,” the statement further quoted Dr US Awasthi, MD, IFFCO, as saying.
The statement also noted that the situation at the plant was under control, with those injured undergoing “appropriate” medical treatment at a nearby medical facility. “An official technical enquiry has been ordered to look into the accident to find out the cause of the accident,” it added.
Two-minute silence will be observed in solidarity with the deceased, IFFCO said.
On Tuesday afternoon, a steam boiler of IFFCO’s ammonia gas plant exploded in Phulpur, around 25km from Prayagraj, killing the two workers and injuring more than dozen other workers. A large number of protesters, including the kin of the victims as well as injured workers had assembled at the main gate of the plant, raising slogans against the management and blaming them for “negligence.”
Heavy police force had to be deployed outside the plant as a precautionary measure.
The Phulpur unit was also the site of an ammonia gas leakage on December 22, 2020. Two officials had died and more than a dozen staff had fallen ill.
