KOLKATA: One person died and seven others were injured after a fire broke out at a chemical factory where crude oil was distilled in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday afternoon, a police officer said.
The fire broke out inside two oil tankers inside the factory at Badu in Duttapukur Police Station jurisdiction at around 1 PM.
"A blast occurred inside the factory while people were working inside.
The blaze was fierce due to the presence of inflammable materials.
We managed to bring out several people stuck inside the factory.
One person is dead while seven others were injured," the officer said.
The condition of three of the injured is critical.
The deceased was identified as Biswanath Basu while the two gravely injured were Joydev Karmakar, Shiekh Ali and Kuldeep Singh, he said.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he added.
"The fire is under control at the moment," an official of the fire department said.
Initially, locals assisted the fire brigade personnel in the rescue work, he said.