Representative image of fire.
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Shimla: A body was recovered from a perfume manufacturing factory in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan on Saturday, a day after a massive fire broke out there, taking the death toll to two as 12 people are still feared missing, police said.
The fire, which is yet to be brought under control, broke out at NR Aroma’s factory in Solan’s Baddi area at 2:45 pm on Friday, claiming a woman’s life and injuring 31 others, they said.
The plant head of N R Aroma, Chander Shekhar has been arrested, police said.
A body has been recovered from the fire site but it is yet to be identified, Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Nalagarh Divanshi Singal said on Saturday
The search and rescue operations are underway for other missing people.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Solan, Manmohan Sharma told PTI that at the time of the incident, about 50 people were in the building, of them some ran to their homes while 13 are still feared missing.
However, the police in its statement said that there were 85 present in the factory and nine are missing.
A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident, Sharma said, adding that the fire is yet to be brought under control as inflammable substances used for manufacturing perfumes are catching fire.
DGP Sanjay Kundu took stock of the situation at the spot and directed to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Superintendent of Police Ashok Verma to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
On Friday evening, of the five injured rushed to PGIMER, Chandigarh, a woman was declared brought dead.
An FIR has been registered into the matter under sections 285 (negligence), 336 (endangering life), 337 (causing hurt and (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC, the police said in a statement issued here.
Sharma said the reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained and a forensic team, NDRF, SDRF, police, revenue and other teams are at the spot.
The family members and friends of the missing people are anxiously waiting outside the factory. In a video that made rounds on social media, a woman was seen wailing and crying for her daughter who was missing.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is currently assessing the structural safety of the site and working to clear it of hazardous gases such as Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen Sulphide and Sulphur Dioxide, police said.
Following the clearance, the team of forensic experts will conduct a spot inspection and collect necessary evidence. Given the complex nature of the fire, the DGP has requested the state government for assistance from the Central Forensic Science Team of the Government of India.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is also expected to visit the fire site.