Mohali: Fire at chemical factory kills two workers, injures seven

MOHALI

: A fire tore through a chemical plant at

Dabari Bazaar

in Bhankarpur village, Derabassi, on Wednesday, leaving two workers dead and seven others injured.


Sources said such was the intensity of the blaze that broke out at the three-storeyed

Punjab Chemicals and Crop Protection

Limited on Mubarikpur-Ramgarh road around 11.30 am that windowpanes of houses located nearby were broken and plumes of black smoke could be visible from a distance. The factory was built around six months back. "I was sitting in my office when I heard a blast. When I stepped out, the air was filled with the smell of chemicals," said an owner of a nearby factory.

Nearly 25 workers were inthe factory when the incident took place. Some of them saved their lives by jumping from the top floor, sources said. One of the victims was Sukhwinder Singh (23), a resident of Bijanpur village, Derabassi. He was taken to a private hospital, near Nada Sahib gurdwara, where he succumbed to his injuries. He is survived by his wife and a one-year-old boy. The second victim is yet to be identified.

Fire officer Manjit Singh said, "We received information about the fire at 11.38 am. As it was a chemical factory, the fire spread quickly. Four fire brigades were sent initially but later six more were called." The fire was brought under control after three hours around 2.30pm. Derabassi sub-divisional magistrate Pooja Syal said, "The fire took place due of a short circuit." The six injured are Jasbir Singh (30) and Manpreet Singh, both residents of Bhandwala, Dharamjit (23), who was living in PCPL, Sachin, Chandra Pal, Akash (25) from Barwala, and Mandeep (31) from Ludhiana. The condition of one of them, Dharamjit, is stated to be critical.