Four workers injured after blast in oil factory

Mahasamund, Aug 01: Four workers received burn injuries after an explosion at a private oil factory in Mahasamund district, officials said on Sunday.
The incident took place on Saturday afternoon at Sridham unit in Brikoni industrial area, located about 50 km from the state capital Raipur, Mahasamund’s Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Bhagwat Prasad Jaiswal said.
The unit was involved in the extraction of furnace oil from waste tyres by burning them in chambers, he said. A minor explosion took place in a chamber following which four workers, who were working nearby, got exposed to the hot gas emanating from the chamber and suffered burn injuries, he said.
Prima facie, no safety measures were found to be in place in the factory and further inquiry into the incident is underway,” the SDM said. Soon after being alerted, a police team reached the spot and shifted the injured workers to the district hospital, from where they were referred to Raipur for further treatment, a police official said.
The injured workers were identified as Lokeshwar Rai (35), Kishore Rai (35), Shailesh Rai (26) and Guddu Rai (25), all natives of Bihar, he said.
Based on preliminary findings, a case has been registered against the factory owner, Arvind Mahajan, a resident of Raipur, under Indian Penal Code Sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), officials said.

About the incident

The incident took place on Saturday afternoon at Sridham unit in Brikoni industrial area, located about 50 km from the state capital Raipur.The unit was involved in the extraction of furnace oil from waste tyres by burning them in chambers, he said. A minor explosion took place in a chamber following which four workers, who were working nearby, got exposed to the hot gas emanating from the chamber and suffered burn injuries.