3 of family killed in spinning mill fire

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 26

Three members of a family, including a child, were asphyxiated after a fire broke out at a cotton-spinning mill, Parasnath Wools, situated in Industrial Area, A Extension, early this morning. More than 25 fire engines took six hours to put out the flames. The cause of the fire was stated to be a short-circuit. The factory was running on a rented place.

The deceased have been identified as Man Bahadur (45), his son Kishan (19), and granddaughter Babita (5). His wife Seema (40) is undergoing treatment at Civil Hospital. They are all natives of Nepal.

The incident occurred at 1 am. One of the labourers woke up to answer nature’s call. He noticed smoke billowing out of the manufacturing room where the machinery was kept. He raised the alarm. By the time the labourer switched on the water pump, the fire and smoke had engulfed the entire factory premises. The labourer tried to douse the flames with six fire extinguishers kept at the factory, but in vain.

At least 20 labourers were sleeping on the factory premises. Four members of a family were sleeping on the first floor while eight each on the ground and third floor. The fire did not reach the third floor and all eight labourers sleeping there were rescued. The labourers on the ground floor also escaped to safety. However, four members of a family, who were sleeping on the first floor, fell unconscious due to asphyxiation.

The labourers, along with firefighters, broke a metal window to rescue the labourers stuck on the first and second floor. “Since the fire had engulfed the entire factory premises, it took us around an hour to break the metal window to rescue people. Four members of a family rescued from the first floor were rushed to the nearby hospital where the doctors declared three of them dead on arrival. The fourth member, a woman, was shifted to Civil Hospital. People rescued from the third floor were safe as there was no yarn or cotton stocked there,” ADFO Rajinder Sharma told Ludhiana Tribune.

Sharma said there was no fire safety arrangements at the factory due to which the fire could not be controlled at the first stage. He said a notice would be issued to the factory owner and required action taken by the department.