7 injured in blast in scrap at Mandi Ahmedgarh factory in Punjab

Mahesh Sharma

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 8

Seven people were injured in a blast that took place at an aluminium angle and channel factory here on Saturday.

The condition of the three injured, shifted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana, is said to be serious. The other four were admitted to a local private hospital.

The seriously injured are Durgesh (20), Ravi Kumar (26) and Ram Babu (26).

Akshey (19), Dalip Kumar (45), Shivam (19) and Raj Kumar (31) were admitted to Sood Hospital at Ahmedgarh.

Though the Dehlon police are yet to register a case, preliminary investigation revealed that the blast took place after workers pressed a lot of scrap containing small-sized aluminium cylinders in a bailing machine.

None of the injured or workers present at the factory could explain the sequence of events. “We don’t remember what caused the explosion. Only what I can recollect is that we, a group of seven workers, were working on a bailing machine that compresses scrap to be melted in a furnace,” said Dalip Kumar, one of the injured.