Kanpur (UP), Sep 21 (PTI) Two workers were charred to death after a fire broke out at a tyre oil factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Dehat on Monday evening, officials said.
The workers were on a nearly 30-ft-high tank when the fire erupted. Trapped by the flames, they fell to the ground. Four other workers and the driver of a tanker, in which the extracted oil is put, managed to escape, the officials said.
The factory, which has been operating for around five years, used to make tyre oil by processing discarded tyres at high temperatures in a sealed, oxygen-free chamber.
The fire broke out around 5.30 pm, when six workers were loading tyres into a tank at the Om JVRD factory near Jariha village in Gajner, about 44 km from the district headquarters, the officials said.
The flames spread quickly, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky that were visible from nearly 2 km away.
Chief Fire Officer (Kanpur Dehat) Prateek Srivastava said he received information about the fire around 5.50 pm and rushed to the factory with three fire tenders from the Mati fire station. Later, three more fire tenders were called in.
“One of the two oil tanks had caught fire. We immediately began cooling the adjoining tank and used foam to put out the fire,” he said.
The fire was brought under control in about 40 minutes, the officer said.
Superintendent of Police (Kanpur Dehat) Shraddha Narendra Pandey said the deceased workers were yet to be identified.
Pandey, along with Additional SP Alok Prasad and Circle Officer Sanjay Singh, visited the factory and took stock of the situation.
Factory owner Ramesh Chandra Gupta told police that workers had previously been caught carrying bidis into the storage area.
He alleged that some workers had again carried bidis inside on Monday and suggested that this could have triggered the fire.
Police are investigating the claim and the exact cause of the blaze. PTI COR NAV DIV DIV
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