M A I N   N E W S

Khanna unit owner flouted safety rules
3,600 kg hexane stoked deadly blaze; toll mounts to seven
Mohit Khanna/TNS

Repair work goes on at the fire accident site in Khanna on Thursday. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Khanna, September 13
Around 3,600 kgs of hexane gas, which is five times more inflammable than petrol, caused the massive explosion at a factory in Khanna yesterday. According to the probe conducted so far, lack of fire-fighting equipment and human error led to the explosion and the subsequent fire that left seven factory workers dead and several others injured at Sanjiv Agro Solvent Plant in the Focal Point area here.

Khanna SDM PS Sodhi, who is conducting a magisterial probe into the incident, lambasted the factory owner for his casual attitude and lack of arrangement of fire-safety equipment.

He said the tragedy could have been averted or at least its impact minimised had the proper fire-safety equipment been installed on the factory premises. “Only a few fire extinguishers were installed near the chambers where hexane was stored. There was no fire-fighting arrangement in the area were rice bran and coal were kept,” he said.

PM sanctions relief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday expressed condolences over the loss of lives in the agro plant accident in Khanna and sanctioned an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the seriously injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

The tragedy has one again highlighted how factory owners play with the lives of their workers for saving money that would go into purchasing fire-fighting equipment. The investigation has revealed that other solvent plants were also flouting guidelines with impunity.

The SDM said the work at the unit should have been stopped and workers evacuated as soon as the leakage of hexane was first noticed.

“The workers had reportedly informed the factory owner about the leakage of hexane. The owner, however, did not immediately tell the plant operators to stop work. Instead, the workers kept on trying to stop the leakage and were charred to death in the ensuing explosion,” said the SDM.

Ajay Kumar Mishra, father of plant operator Davinder Mishra, blamed lack of fire-safety measure for the death of his son.