Three workers killed in fire at Ludhiana factory, 2 injured

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 14

Three workers were killed in a major fire that broke out in a three-storey factory near Lakkar Bridge here on Tuesday.

Insufficient Safety arrangements

• There were reportedly no fire safety arrangements in place. Only a few fire extinguishers were there in the factory, but these were not sufficient to control the fire
• Of the 12 workers inside the unit when the fire broke out, five were unable to escape. One died on the spot and two others succumbed to their injuries at a hospital

According to information, the fire broke out at 1 pm. Almost 12 workers were working in the factory when the fire started. While the workers tried to rush out of the factory, five of them got stuck inside the unit. It was only when fire tenders reached the spot, they were taken out by fire fighters in critical conditions.

One worker was charred to death inside the factory while other four injured were immediately rushed to the DMC Hospital where two died during treatment. The remaining two are still undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Maninder Singh, fire station officer, said “When the firefighters were dousing the flames, they saw five workers lying unconscious. The fire had spread across three floors and was controlled after four hours of struggle.”

The person who was charred to death on the spot has been identified as Inderjit Singh, the two who succumbed to the injuries at the hospital are Mahinder Kumar (38) and Ravinder Chopra (60). Gulshan Kumar (35) and Ashwani Kumar (35) are undergoing treatment. Some of the houses in the vicinity of the factory were got vacated by the police since there was risk of building collapse.

When asked about action taken against the factory owner for negligence, SHO Vijay Kumar said a probe was underway and action would be taken as per the law.

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