JOIN USJeeth Singh (32) from UP and Shoaib (25) from Bihar, who were killed in the fire, were working in Ravi Ragh Industries located in 5th Main 9th Cross, Bhuvaneswari Nagar on Magadi Road in KP Agrahara. Among the injured, a middle aged person admitted to Victoria Hospital, was in a critical condition.
Around 9:26 am, Jayamma, a neighbour, noticed smoke emanating from the backyard of the agarbathi factory and alerted the fire department.
A senior fire force officer said the blaze could have been caused by various factors. A short circuit could have ignited the highly inflammable aromatic chemicals and perfumes, he said. Packing materials, bamboo sticks, gunny bags, charcoal powder, and plastic drums fed the fire that raged for hours.
More than a dozen fire tenders fought the flames for nearly six hours, before bringing it under control. The narrow lanes through which the factory can be reached, made the task difficult for the firemen. The two-decades-old factory has been functioning in a thickly populated residential area.
The ground-plus-two floor building has virtually no ventilation and the few existing windows had also been closed when the fire was raging. However, the factory godown in the adjacent building was spared from the flames.
In a written complaint complaint, the injured Khader has blamed the owner for the working conditions.
The general secretary of Bangalore District Agarbhathi Union, Veeramani, said inadequate safety measures at the factory sparked the fire.
“The owner is in the habit of closing the doors and opening them only after the shift.
Many underaged boys were also working in the factory,” he said.
Vishwanth, Ashwath and Veerappa, who live in the neighbouring houses, told Deccan Herald that they heard cries for help from inside the factory about 9 am. “We rushed to the factory to rescue those locked inside, but couldn’t do much as the main door was locked. However, we mustered courage and helped in with the rescue effort once the firemen arrived,” they said.
Swamy, a factory worker, considers himself lucky as his shift was starting at 10 am. Noticing the fire, he helped some of his fellow workers to get out of the building.
Police have taken the factory owner into custody.