New Delhi: Four workers were killed and several others injured on Sunday when a powerful explosion ripped through a rod-manufacturing factory at Pangram, under Udharbond in Assam’s Cachar district, according to media reports. The blast tore through the unit while work was under way inside, sending workers and residents fleeing in panic.
TOI reported four fatalities citing rescue workers on the ground, with several more injured and treatment under way. Authorities are yet to confirm the exact number of casualties.
Initial information points to the explosion of an LPG cylinder inside the factory premises as the likely trigger, according to preliminary accounts from the site. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of three workers in the first hours after the blast, with the toll subsequently revised upward. Several injured workers were shifted to hospital for treatment; the full extent of the casualties was still being established.
Visuals from the scene showed extensive structural damage inside the unit, an indication of the force of the blast. The precise cause has not been officially established, and authorities are expected to order a detailed investigation.
Anger on the ground
The explosion set off tension outside the factory, where hundreds of local residents and workers gathered in protest. Demonstrators blocked the factory’s main gate and, for a period, prevented police from removing the bodies. Officials were working to bring the situation under control and allow the recovery operation to proceed.
Protesters demanded that the factory be shut down and that the families of the deceased be given adequate compensation. Several residents alleged that the unit operates in a residential area and that similar incidents have occurred there before. One protesting worker alleged that fatal accidents at the factory were not uncommon, though this claim has not been independently verified and should be treated as an allegation rather than a confirmed pattern.
Accounts from outside the gate also described confusion over access to the site, with some relatives saying they were initially prevented from entering to check on family members believed to be inside at the time of the blast.
Recurring concern
Assam’s small and medium industrial units, particularly those handling molten metal, boilers and pressurised gas, have seen a string of fatal accidents in recent years, from cracker units to steel-melting plants elsewhere in the country. Sunday’s blast is likely to renew scrutiny of safety compliance and licensing at such units in the state, an issue that has repeatedly surfaced after similar accidents in Assam and neighbouring states.
Cachar district authorities are expected to order a probe into the cause of the explosion and the safety record of the factory, following the pattern of inquiries ordered after comparable industrial accidents elsewhere in India this year.