Local crockery factory fire leaves two dead, one injured

New Delhi: After battling the recent fire mishap for several hours in Kohat Enclave where four of a family lost their lives, another major fire on Monday night left two labourers dead and one injured in a crockery factory in Nawada in Northwest Delhi.

Following this incident, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) personnel have been on tenterhooks for the past one week with the mercury rising steadily in the city.

It is alleged that the main gate of the factory was locked from the outside due to which the labourers working inside couldn’t save themselves. Close on the heels of Bawana fire, the Nawada fire has yet again raised concerns over safety and security of the labourers.

Investigation reveals that the fire broke out at around 10.50 pm. Following a complaint to the fire department, four fire tenders were immediately pressed into the service.

“By the time the fire tenders reached the said place, it was already 11.30 and the main gate of the factory was open,” said a fire official.

When the officials went to check further, they found one severely burnt labourer at the factory’s main entrance. Further ahead, two other labourers were found dead inside a room.

Eyewitness, Amit Kumar, who works in a razor manufacturing unit adjacent to the crockery factory, said that he heard a cracker-like noise and then saw the front portion of the crockery factory catching fire, the police said.

“There was a power cut in the area and when the electricity came,  there was sparking. There were cartons kept outside the unit that caught fire and in a few seconds, the front portion of the factory was in flames," Mr Kumar said.

Locals alleged that the fire fighters took more than one hour in reaching the spot. If, they had come in time, the casuality would have been averted. Two persons, 35-year-old Satyendra and 29-year-old Arvind lost their lives.

Both were workers in the factory and were sleeping inside the building when the fire broke out. Both hailed from Bihar.

According to a fire official, the cause of fire and extent of damage is still being ascertained.

The cause of the fire mishap has not yet been ascertained. The jurisdictional police has registered a case under Sections 287, 336 and 304 A of Indian Penal Code (IPC).