Tea break helps workers escape fire accident in pharma factory

Scores of people went through anxious moments for hours after three boilers exploded in a major fire that broke out at an Ayurvedic medicine manufacturing unit at Mallarabanawadi village near Nelamangala on Monday afternoon.

Five fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire. There were no injuries and casualties in the mishap as the employees had gone out for a tea break.

The management suffered heavy losses in the fire accident that destroyed machinery, huge quantities of raw material as well as manufactured products, said the police.

C A Anwar owns the facility - Olive Life Science Private Limited - spread over 11 acres of land. There are over 50 units on the factory premises to manufacture and store medicines for weight reduction. There are about 50 boilers in which the roots of medicinal plants are boiled in water to prepare the medicines.
There were 110 workers on Monday and they had gone out for tea at around 3 pm. There was a electric short-circuit at the power box which was connected to the boilers.

The short-circuit triggered an explosion in three boilers and the resulting fire spread all over. The three boilers and the roof of the factory were completely destroyed in the mishap, police said.

The workers informed the fire services and five tenders with over 50 firemen were rushed to the spot.
They took over two hours to douse the fire. The factory management is found to have violated fire safety norms, police said.