In a massive fire that broke out at a chemical factory in Maharashtra, at least 18 employees have been recorded dead and many were found to be missing. The fire broke out in the sanitizer manufacturing unit. In a horrifying visual, thick smoke can be seen engulfing the entire space as people rush for safety at the nearest exit. Other witnesses can be seen standing nearby.
As fire billowed in the campus of the factory, fire engines were rushed to the sport and firemen had to break walls to rescue people from the blazing fire. The factory is owned by SV Aqua Technologies, a corporation that specializes in making chlorine dioxide products, used in water treatment. It is located in the Pirangut industrial estate, located some 16km away from Pune. This belt is home to several other factories and plants located in close proximity to each other. When asked, the local fire department said that 37 people were working on the campus at the time.
The fire first started during the packing of plastic material and spread rapidly from there to engulf the entire premises. The news of fire at the Pune Sanitiser factory came as a dark shock to the country with many people passing away in this incident. The government has decided to offer compensation to the families who lost their dear ones. Prime Minister Modi announced that two lakh rupees will be given to the families of workers who passed away in the fire. Additionally, fifty thousand rupees will be given to workers who were injured. The government of Maharashtra has also declared a sum of five lakh rupees as compensation to the victims’ families.
The fire has now been controlled and the search for the missing workers is actively underway. It took hours to stop the ravages of the fire and identify victims to take them to the Sassoon General Hospital for identification and postmortem of the charred bodies. “For now, a case of accidental death is being registered. The company officials are with us in searching for the victims”, said Pune Rural SP Abhinav Deshmukh.
While the country is grappling with the damages of the pandemic, the fire at the pune sanitiser factory has shaken the entire country. The hope is that the missing people can be found and safety can be followed in the future to avoid any such devastating incidents.
