4 die of asphyxia in Amritsar factory fire

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Amritsar, October 6

Four workers, including a woman, died of asphyxia after a fire broke out at a manufacturing unit of Kwality Pharmaceuticals at Nag Kalan village on the Majitha road here yesterday.

Will give enough compensation

We regret that four of our employees lost their lives and will extend full support to the families of the victims. Sufficient relief, besides ESI benefits, will be given to the dependents of the four deceased.

— Gurpreet Kaur, Secy, Kwality Pharmaceuticals

The deceased have been identified as Rani (22) of Dera Baba Nanak, Sukhdeep Singh (27) of Bharthwal in Batala, Gurbej Singh (25) of Verka and Kulwinder Singh (17) of Majitha.

A fireman said the victims were found unconscious inside the factory around 10 pm yesterday. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Fire officer Dilbagh Singh said there was no burn injury on the bodies and the victims had died of asphyxia due to the dense smoke inside the unit.

Drums filled with alcohol had caught fire in the factory. The incident was reported to the fire brigade at 3.30 pm on Thursday. Dousing the flames had proved challenging for the firemen.

Initially, the factory staff had reportedly informed the firemen that everyone had come out of the building after fire broke out. As some workers did not return home after their shift ended at 6 pm, their parents visited the factory, following which the search for missing persons began.

The fire brigade staff found four workers lying unconscious at the first floor of the building. The kin of the deceased alleged that delay in rescue work had led to the deaths of their loved ones.

They also led a demonstration at the factory gate. Firm owner Ramesh Arora assured them of compensation.

DSP Kawalpreet Singh said a short circuit could have caused the fire. Forensic teams visited the spot to ascertain the exact cause of the blaze. Kwality Pharmaceuticals issued a statement promising adequate compensation to the four families.