An employee was killed and five others were seriouslyinjured today when a fire broke out in a plant of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd(HAL) at Sunabeda in Odisha's Koraput district.
The fire, which broke out in the compressor shop of thehigh-security plant, led to the death of an employee identified as PadmaPatnaik while he was being shifted to Vishakapatnam for treatment, officialsources said.
At least six employees, including one engaged on contract,had been initially admitted to the HAL Hospital at Sunabeda with burn injuriesafter the mishap at the strategically important unit.
The injured persons with serious burns were later beingshifted to a hospital in Vishakapatnam when Patnaik succumbed to injuries onthe way, sources said.
The fire was extinguished in less then one hour before itcould spread to other areas as fire tenders were pressed into serviceimmediately, they said.
Efforts were on to ascertain the cause of the fire, theyadded.