At least five workers employed in a bakery situated near Arapalayam (Guru Theatre junction) were injured when a LPG refill cylinder burst causing extensive damage to the premises in Madurai on Sunday.
Police said that a case of negligence was registered against the owner and manager, who were secured for interrogation.
Preliminary inquiries suggested that a worker Pari Vallal (60) of Mettu Theru Pethaniapuram, who is the complainant, had suffered multiple injuries as he was sitting close to the LPG refill and preparing ‘vadas’ at the time of the blast.
A few other workers who had suffered minor injuries claimed that a few days ago they had informed the owner and the manager about the need to check the LPG refill as there was some leak from the cylinder. Negligence on the part of attending to it had resulted in the burst, a senior police officer who visited the spot said.
The fire and rescue services department rushed two fire tenders to the spot and put out the fire in about 30 minutes. A large posse of police was also deployed to ensure that public did not go near the spot as the debris may cause injuries to onlookers. Traffic on the Guru Theatre stretch was diverted for sometime. The fire officers said that the injured were rushed to the hospital and that there was no casualty. The names of the arrested persons were given as Udayakumar (32) son of Chinnachamy and Williams (42) of DD Road. Further investigation is on.
Last week
Only last Sunday, a multi-storeyed building under construction near the ESI Hospital in Thathaneri collapsed in which a worker died on the spot and six others escaped with multiple injuries.
The negligence of the contractor and the building owner was cited as a major reason for the accident.
The Corporation Mayor had ordered for a thorough probe since the applicant had violated the norms by carrying out the construction activities even when the application was yet to be approved by the authorities.
