E-Paper
1 killed, 16 hurt in factory fire
ONE WORKER was killed and at least 16 others suffered serious burn injuries when a massive fire broke out in a shoe-sole making unit in Becongunj on Wednesday. All the injured have been admitted to the UHM and the LLR hospitals. Chaos reigned at the Shaukat Park, Kanghi Mohal, for hours, when a pile of rubber soles stocked in the basement of the factory caught fire from a stove. Those working in the basement got trapped before locals could get into the rescue act and inform the fire brigade.
ONE WORKER was killed and at least 16 others suffered serious burn injuries when a massive fire broke out in a shoe-sole making unit in Becongunj on Wednesday. All the injured have been admitted to the UHM and the LLR hospitals.
Chaos reigned at the Shaukat Park, Kanghi Mohal, for hours, when a pile of rubber soles stocked in the basement of the factory caught fire from a stove.
Those working in the basement got trapped before locals could get into the rescue act and inform the fire brigade. But by the time they could be pulled out one person had died and 16 others sustained burn injuries. A dozen others also developed breathing problems from the poisonous smoke. As fire tenders couldn’t reach the site, the locals joined hands to rescue the trapped workers.
Once pulled out, the injured were rushed to the UHM Hospital. Utter chaos reigned at the hospital as people accompanying the injured manhandled a ward boy and the EMO on duty for the ‘delay in treatment’.
A team of senior doctors and other officials of the police and the district administration reached the hospital and tried to calm down the angry mob.
Meanwhile, three fire tenders were pressed into service. But the inaccessibility of the basement delayed rescue operation. The firefighters had to overcome encroachments before they could reach the spot.
According to eyewitnesses, late Wednesday afternoon when workers of the Gyasuddin’s rubber sole factory in Kanghi Mohal, Beconganj, were offering Namaaz, fire spread from a stove being used to boil rubber solution.
As the workers were offering Namaaz, they did not take immediate steps to douse the fire and this worsened the situation. By the time the Namaaz was over the fire had spread. Only 20 persons managed to escape using the small entrance, while 20 others were trapped due to the poisonous smoke filled in the factory and were badly burnt. When the fire tenders from Fazalganj and Colonelganj and cops from Bajaria and Colonelganj reached the site, the fire had taken the shape of inferno.
The local people had begun rescue operation and after three hours of struggle they managed to extinguish the fire. Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) PC Meena has ordered an investigation into the incident.
