CHANDIGARH: A blast occurred at the Verka milk plant on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road here, leaving one person dead and five injured, police said on Thursday.
The blast took place on Wednesday night when the repair work of a boiler was underway.
Station House Officer of Sarabha Nagar Police Station, Aditya Sharma, said the explosion took place at the boiler unit of the air conitioner on Ludhiana-Ferozepur road.
"Six workers were injured. One of them, Kunal Jain succumbed to his injuries shortly after being admitted to DMC Hospital. Kulwant Singh and Davinder Singh are currently in OT and others are in ward," Sharma said.
The remaining injured Ajit Singh, Puneet Kumar, Kulwant Singh, Davinder Singh Lalton, and Gurtej Singh, all residents of Ludhiana are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
Kunal Jain was reportedly the in-charge of the air heater section. Sources said that Jain was at a birthday celebration when he received an urgent call, asking him to check the boiler system. Despite it being his day off, Jain decided to head to the facility and inspect the system.
His friend Sudhir Jain said, "We were all at a birthday party when Kunal got a call from the milk plant and left. At 11 pm, we got another call informing us that he is dead."
General Manager of Verka Milk Plant Daljit Singh said that Kunal inspected the boiler during the day, just as they were to start operations, and later came to check the boiler at night as he was so dedicated towards his work.
Kunal Jain is survived by his wife, who also works at the plant on contract, and two children.
A committee has been set up to probe the incident.
Verka brand is owned by Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (MILKFED).