A massive fire broke out at a plastic zip factory in the Sankrail Industrial Park in West Bengal's Howrah district on Wednesday. Seven employees, including six women, sustained burns, and were admitted to nearby hospitals. The condition of three of them is said to be critical.
Five fire tenders fought the blaze at KCCL Zipal India Pvt Limited for several hours, a district fire official said.
The fire was reported at 2.50 p.m., when the employees were working inside the factory. Locals said there was a loud explosion, after which the factory was in flames. Firefighters recovered a number of gas cylinders stacked inside.
On May 12, a fire was reported in the same area in another factory, manufacturing jute products, and firemen had to battle it for five hours.
Frequent instances of fire in factories located in Howrah district have raised concerns over safety measures adopted by the units.
A district fire official said that once the industrial units operating on the outskirts of Howrah town obtained a ‘no-objection' certificate from the department, they would stop taking measures to upgrade or revamp fire safety. In most cases, the cause of fire was faulty wiring and storage of inflammable materials without any safeguard, he said.
Keywords: factory fire, Howrah, employees injured, Sankrail Industrial Park
