Two charred to death, 1 injured in paint factory fire in Amritsar

Two persons were killed and one was injured after a massive fire erupted in a paint factory located in Anngarh area here on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Inderjit Shami (60) of Chheharta and Kishan (50) of Tehsilpura locality. The injured was identified as Vishal Kumar.

According to information, they had tried to escape from the building, but because of the presence of chemicals, thinner and other inflammable materials on the premises, the fire engulfed the factory within no time. Eye-witnesses said the victims got trapped as the backside gate of the factory was locked. Their bodies were badly charred in the incident.

The injured was rushed to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital for treatment. He suffered burn injuries on the legs.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Major (retd) Amit Sareen said the district administration and the police department immediately swung into action as the news flashed on the control room about the massive fire. The building contained inflammable materials which led to blasts and dense smoke. Nearby buildings and residences were evacuated by the administration as a precautionary measure.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishaljit Singh said a case is being registered against the owner of the factory, identified as Ashwani Kumar, of Rup Nagar area for negligence that led to the incident and loss of innocent lives. He said the police were verifying whether the paint factory was legal or illegal. As for the reason of the fire, he said only forensic analysis would ascertain the cause behind the eruption of fire. He said it would take a day or two for the same. The bodies of the victims would be handed over to the family members after a postmortem.

It took several hours for the Fire Brigade teams to bring the fire under control. Over five fire tenders were pressed into service, said Dilbagh Singh, Fire Officer. He said they had received information about the fire at around 10am. He said it was taking time to put off the fire as drums of thinner were exploding.

He said the two victims, who lost their lives, had gone to douse the fire, but it engulfed the entire building within no time.