Pune: 17 workers have died in a massive fire in a chemical factory. Most of these are women. 37 employees were on duty at the time of the incident in the sanitizer making factory.
The fire was brought under control by late evening. On this accident, PM Modi has announced two lakh rupees to the next of kin of each of the deceased and 50-50 thousand rupees to the injured.
The fire broke out at SVS Aqua Technologies' factory in Pirangat industrial area of Mulshi tehsil of Pune at around 3.30 pm, officials said. Many types of chemicals including sanitizers are prepared in this factory.
Soon the fire spread to the entire factory and the workers working there got trapped in it. Eight vehicles of the fire brigade were pressed into service to douse the fire.
The fire was brought under control after about three hours. 17 people have died in this accident. The bodies of 11 people had already been taken out, later six more bodies were found. 20 people were evacuated safely or they went out on their own.
A company official said that it is not yet known how the fire started. Witnesses said the bodies were so badly burnt that it was difficult to identify them.
Rescue workers said at least 12 women were among the dead, as most of the male workers had left the factory when the fire broke out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in the accident.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted, "Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia of Rs.2 lakh each to the next of kin of each person killed in the fire in Pune factory. Also, Rs.50,000 will be given to each injured. "
Home Minister Shah also tweeted and expressed deep grief over the accident. Expressing his deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones in this accident, he also wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Read the full article
