By Our Staff Reporter
Roorkee, 21 Sep: In a major accident at a factory near Roorkee, 17 employees got severely burnt due to a boiler explosion late last night. The incident occurred in a factory located in Manglaur. As per the report, the injured were taken to a hospital in the adjoining district of Muzaffarnagar, UP. Later, the UP Police informed Uttarakhand Police about the incident.
According to Haridwar district police, a boiler exploded in a factory located in Manglaur Kotwali area near Roorkee, due to which 17 employees received serious burn injuries. It has also been revealed that the factory management did not inform the police or the district administration about the accident and chose to instead secretly get the injured admitted to hospitals in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut. It has further been revealed that most of the employees who were injured in the explosion belonged to Muzaffarnagar, Deoria and Bijnor districts of Uttar Pradesh. However, when the UP Police informed the Uttarakhand Police about the accident this morning, the Haridwar Police reached the explosion site at the factory and began investigations.
The police also called the fire brigade as well as the forensic team on the spot in the morning. The forensic team began its investigation to determine the cause of the accident. As per the Haridwar Police, the factory in question is a steel factory and is located in village Mundiyaki in the Manglaur Kotwali area. As per the claims of local people, it was a big blast last night following which the injured were admitted to a private hospital in Muzaffarnagar and the factory management did not inform the authorities about the blast. However, the hospital is understood to have informed Muzaffarnagar Police about the incident which in turn informed the Uttarakhand Police.
Police officials of Manglaur Police Station informed the media that the exact cause behind the blast is yet to be determined and the investigation is underway. However, locally it is being speculated that the factory used scrap material of old vehicles to make steel and the blast occurred when the shock absorbers of some vehicles were thrown inside the furnace, which then exploded. It is not known, as yet, if the police have taken the scrap material under its possession or not.
Mangalore Kotwali in-charge Mahesh Joshi says that he had received information from the Muzaffarnagar Police control room that 17 employees of this factory were injured in the accident. Everyone is undergoing treatment. He added that, in case someone files a complaint in this matter, further action will be taken.
Meanwhile, speaking to the news agency, ANI, Haridwar SSP Pramendra Dobhal confirmed that 17 workers were injured due to boiler explosion in the Gayatri Steel Services factory in Manglaur. He added that he had issued instructions for a safety audit of the factory and action will be taken if any irregularities are found.
