Pune: 15 dead in factory fire, search on for those trapped

At least 15 workers died when a fire broke out a chemical factory in Urawade in Pune district’s Mulshi taluka on Monday. More people are feared trapped in the fire at the factory of SVS Aqua Technologies and efforts are on to rescue them.

Pune District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh said while the fire has been controlled, all the areas of the factory aren’t accessible yet. “Fifteen dead bodies have been brought out so far. The search is still on and the count may go up. The total casualty will become clear only after the entire areas is searched.”

Deshmukh who visited the site, said an inquiry has been instituted under Sub-divisional Magistrate, Maval, with fire officers and police officers as members, to determine the cause of the fire and if there were any violation of the safety measures the plant should have been following.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has announced an ex gratia help of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died in the fire.

“A total of 37 workers were inside the factory. As per the roll call, initially a total of 17 persons, including 15 women and two men, were missing,” said Devendra Potphode, chief of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) Fire Brigade.

Huge amount of smoke and flames emanating from the company caused panic in the area.

On receiving information about the fire, teams of PMRDA and MIDC fire brigades rushed to the spot with fire tenders, water tankers and fire fighting equipment.

“Fire fighters are trying to bring the blaze under control. A few bodies have been found. Search and rescue operation is on for the remaining workers trapped inside,” said a senior PMRDA fire brigade officer.

Meanwhile, a huge amount of smoke and flames emanating from the blaze caused panic in the area. A Pune Rural Police team soon reached the spot to manage the crowd, and the law and order situation.

Abhinav Deshmukh, superintendent of Pune Rural Police, said, “The company produces chlorine dioxide tablets for water purification…..Police teams and the fire brigade are on the spot.”