Three persons, including two children, were charred to death and several others sustained injuries after a fire broke out in a paint factory in Sonipat’s Rai industrial area on Delhi-Haryana border on Sunday morning, the police said.
FIR against owners
A first information report has been registered against six persons, including the two owners, in this connection, they said.
The fire broke out in the basement of Real Paint Private Limited in the early hours of Sunday, trapping several labourer families residing on the second and third floors.
All exits blocked
The police received a call around 4 a.m. and over a dozen fire tenders, including those from Panipat and Delhi, were pressed into service. It took more than eight hours to douse the fire, which had spread to three adjoining factories before fire tenders reached the spot. Seeing the fire spread to the first floor, labourers on the second and third floors jumped to save their lives since all exits were blocked. Several labourers suffered fractured limbs and other injuries in the process.
The police said paints and chemicals stored in huge quantities in the basement and the first floor of the factory fed the fire and made it difficult for firefighters to control it quickly.
“Three charred bodies were recovered from the building after the fire was doused. While two of the deceased appear to be minors, the third seems to be an adult male,” said Sonipat Superintendent of Police Satender Kumar Gupta.
He said preliminary investigation suggests the fire was caused due to short circuit.
Rai Police Station SHO Inspector Rishi Kant said an FIR had been registered against owners Gulshan and Abhishek, a manager and three supervisors. “No arrests have been made so far,” said Mr. Kant.
