JOIN USThree workers killed, 2 hurt in bakery explosion
Three bakery workers were killed and two others injured when a malfunctioning oven exploded in east Delhi’s Khureji area on Thursday morning.
All the five victims were taken to Hedgewar Hospital where Zainul, 22, Sajid, 21, and Lifakat, 20, were declared brought dead. Nazar Alam, 20, and Afsar, 25, are still in the hospital in a critical condition, said police.
Local residents said the blast around 5.10 am shattered their windows.
“We woke up to what felt like a blast and we could not make sense of it. We rushed outside our homes and found that the bakery was on fire. We rushed to the area and also called up the fire service,” said Sandeep Sharma.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) sent four fire tenders to the spot.
“We rushed to the location after the call was received at 5.20 am. The fire was brought under control by 6.10 am,” said an official.
Firemen and police personnel rushed into the bakery to rescue the workers.
The oven had developed a problem earlier and the workers had shut it for a while.
“In the night the oven developed a snag and stopped working. The workers called up the bakery owner Zahid and told him about the issue. Around 4.30 am he came to the bakery and inspected the oven. He had just left the bakery and was outside the building when the blast occurred,” said Akhtar, a local resident.
Police also said the oven may have malfunctioned. They are waiting for the forensic report to ascertain the exact cause of the blast.
“We still do not know the real reason why the fire started. Prima facie it look like that the oven malfunctioned, because of which the fire started. The investigation is underway,” said Rishi Pal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East).
The bakery, Choudhary Sweets, makes rusks, biscuits and namkeens. It is situated on the first floor of a three-story building at Aflatoon Market in Khureji Khas.
On the ground floor, there is a sweet shop while tenants live on the second floor.
“Around 20 workers work in shifts in a space of 50 square yards in the bakery. Some live in rented houses while others stay at the bakery. They work there for 10-12 hours and then sleep at the same place,” said Salim Rizvi, another local resident.
Two of the killed workers, Zainul and Sajid, hailed from Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad district.
The third, Lifaqat,was from Kannauj district. The injured, Nazar and Afsar, are also from Farrukhabad, police said.