1 dead, 11 injured in Ludhiana factory blast

Nikhil Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 26

A major blast occurred in the furnace of a factory, DC Steel Limited, situated at Jhabewal village on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road, late last night claiming the life of a worker.

Factory workers were busy remodelling hot iron when the blast occurred. Due to the blast, Shambu (45) of Uttar Pradesh died on the spot, while another labourer, Sri Ram Paswan (39), who suffered 80 per cent burns and was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, is on ventilator.

Other workers who suffered burn injuries were identified as Rajesh (29), Mintu Singh (34), Harinder (22), Pardeep (22), Ram Kirpal (20), Prabhu (38), Chandar (19), Sanjay (20), Vishwadeep (36) and Deepu (30). All are migrant labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The injured workers were immediately rushed to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. A worker, Mintu Singh, who also suffered serious burn injuries, was referred to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, and his condition is said to be stable.

As per information obtained from the Civil Hospital, 12 persons were brought to the hospital from the factory for the treatment of burn injuries due to blast. The team of doctors, comprising Dr Davinder, Dr Milan Verma and Dr Gurbinder Kaur, attended to the patients in the Emergency Ward at 2:10 am. Doctors said one Shambu was already brought dead in the hospital and his body was kept in the Civil Hospital’s mortuary.

Ajinder Singh, ADCP-IV, said as per the CCTV footage the incident occurred at around 12.49 am and due to the huge intensity of the blast, labourer standing near the furnace suffered serious burns. Worker Shambu died on the spot.

“We are waiting for the family members of the deceased and an FIR will be lodged against the factory owner for negligence,” the ADCP added.

Officials from the Industry Department also visited the factory to probe the exact cause of the blast and they would also check whether the required safety measures were adopted by the factory owner or not.

Owner holds 2 minor labourers ‘hostage’

Two minor labourers told The Tribune that they had been working in the factory from the past one month and a private contractor employed them there. After the blast, the factory owner did not let them go outside the factory and kept them in a room. “We were allowed to go out of the factory on Friday morning. The owner feared that since we are minors, we may catch the attention of the police,” they alleged.

UP labourer dies on spot

Due to the blast, Shambu (45) of Uttar Pradesh died on the spot, while another labourer, Sri Ram Paswan (39), who suffered 80 per cent burns and was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, is on ventilator. The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana.