Maheshtala (West Bengal): Three persons and several others were injured in a major fire that broke out at a cracker factory at a godown at Mandalpara of Jhautla Putkhali in Nungi cracker market of Maheshtala in South 24 Parganas on Monday evening. Police from Budge Budge and Maheshtala police stations along with fire brigade rushed to the spot. Though they have been successful in dousing the fire, the cause of the fire is yet to be known.
The incident happened at 5.45 pm in the evening when the local people heard a loud thud from the factory. They rushed to the spot only to find that the entire godown was under the spell of fire. Police and fire brigade rushed to the spot and three charred bodies were recovered from the place.
The persons are identified as Lipika Hati (52), wife of factory owner Bharat Hati, son Shantanu Hati (22), and neighbor minor Alo Das (17). According to the police, several other persons were injured and they have been sent to the local hospital. The number of deaths is likely to go up.
“There are five fire tenders on the spot and they have been successful in arresting the fire. The real cause of the fire is yet not known. The fire spread so rapidly that we were a little late then the situation would have been dangerous. Three persons died in the fire,” Director Fire, South 24 Parganas, Abhishek Pandey said.
“There are several factories in and around the market and they don’t have proper licenses. We are yet to know the exact cause of the fire. Our primary responsibility is to rescue the people. After the initial rescue operation is over, we will try to find out the real cause of the fire,” a senior police officer of Maheshtala police station said.
