LUCKNOW: Five persons were killed and over half a dozen others injured when a building housing an illegal soap manufacturing factory being operated from a rented accommodation in Lohia Nagar in Meerut collapsed after two explosions early on Tuesday morning. The first explosion was followed by a second one after 30 minutes.
As per local sources, the explosions were so powerful that nearby houses got damaged and the windowpanes of a school also got shattered. Meanwhile, the owner of the building is absconding.
The police and rescue teams of the district administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot to pull out those trapped under the debris. A team of the Meerut wing of the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad also reached the spot to conduct an inquiry into the incident.
Taking cognizance of the incident, UP CM Yogi Adityanath expressed grief and issued directives for immediate medical attention to the injured. He also directed officials to send him a report on the incident soon.
Following the CM's directives, Meerut district magistrate Deepak Meena set up a six-member team under ADM City to probe into the incident and prepare a report at the earliest.
The Meerut DM said that around 10 persons were trapped in the debris of whom five were dead, while the injured were admitted to a local hospital. According to Meena, the blast might have occurred due to some fault in chemical mixing and forensic experts were ascertaining the reason for it. The deceased might be labourers as they were yet to be identified.
The property in which the factory was being run on the ground floor for over five years belonged to Sanjay Gupta, while it was hired by Gaurav Tyagi. The DM ordered a probe into the incident.
Equipment used in soap manufacturing was found at the spot, which indicated that either soap was manufactured in the unit or its packaging was being done here, said Meena.
As per Meerut SSP Rohit Singh Sajwan, though initially they were informed that explosives meant to make firecrackers had exploded at the spot, a preliminary inquiry indicated that this was not the case. “An inquiry into the incident will determine the exact reason for the blast and also fix the responsibility,” said the SSP.