At least seven people were charred to death after a fire erupted at a chemical factory in the Bhiwadi area of Rajasthan’s Khairthal-Tijara district on Monday, officials said.
Authorities confirmed that seven bodies were recovered from the site. Firefighting operations were still underway at the time of reporting, and further details were awaited.
Additional District Magistrate Sumitra Prateek said that the factory where the fire broke out was a garment factory, but firecrackers were being manufactured inside it illegally. She also said that two people were trapped in the factory.
"The premises was leased out in the name of a garment factory but as per the preliminary report, firecrackers were being manufactured illegally," news agency PTI reported quoted her as saying.
Prateek said that the police got to know about the incident during a routine patrol, following which a rescue operation was launched.
Preliminary findings indicate that more than 20 people were present inside the factory when the blaze erupted. Several workers managed to escape as the fire spread, but nine were reportedly trapped inside the unit. Of them, seven were burned to death. Firefighters brought the flames under control after nearly one-and-a-half hours of efforts. Authorities said some skeletal remains were also recovered from the site.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma directed district officials to immediately begin relief and rescue operations and asked state Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma to proceed to Alwar to oversee the situation.
State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra called on the government and local administration to take swift action, linking the incident to what he described as a pattern of industrial accidents in the state.
"In the district of Khairthal-Tijara, in Bhiwadi, a chemical factory caught fire and killed 8-10 people. Many people have been injured. There has been heavy damage... The government and administration should take immediate action," Dotasra told ANI.
Dotasra also referred to an earlier accident in Ajmer in which at least 16 people were killed after a chemical tanker overturned. "After the formation of the government, as you have seen, on Ajmer Road, a chemical tanker was overturned. More than 16 people were killed. In Jaipur, in SMS, in ICU, people were burnt to death... This has become a common thing, but the government is not paying attention to this. This is a very serious matter," he said.
Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully also expressed grief over the deaths of seven labourers.
Authorities have not yet released details on the cause of the fire.