20230524 2 killed, 1 hurt after Malda market explosion & blaze
India May 24 2023 “Building” “Stores”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
2 killed, 1 hurt after Malda market explosion & blaze
Updated: 2023-05-24
MALDA: Two persons were killed and one severely wounded in a fire following an explosion at an English Bazar market on Tuesday.
Five fire engines worked for at least nine hours to control the blaze, which also left 13 shops damaged. The reason for the fire is yet to be confirmed but illegal stocks of carbide and firecrackers discovered in a congested space have raised several questions.
The sound of an explosion shook Rathbari around 6.30am; this was immediately followed by the noise of several crackers bursting. Onlookers rushed to the spot to find a corner of Netaji Market ablaze, with thick smoke filling the air. According to locals, drums of carbide – usually used to ripen mangoes – were being unloaded from a lorry into a godown. One of these reportedly slipped from the hands of a worker, causing the blast. Adjacent to the carbide godown, there were shops and storehouses of firecrackers, which were set alight instantly. A tin roof covering a passage to the market was blown off.
Local Trinamool leader Ashis Kundu, among the first to reach the spot, called the fire brigade, which arrived within minutes. But the narrow space stopped fire engines from being able to get to the fire at once. The carbide smoke also made it difficult to enter the area, with at least two firefighters reportedly falling ill.
Water, which was being used to douse the cracker shop, caused a chemical reaction in the carbide. Divisional fire officer Swapan Das, who was at the spot, said: “We used sand to control the carbide blaze.”
Malda Merchant Chamber of Commerce (MMCC), English Bazar Municipality officials as well as police also rushed to the scene.
While tackling the blaze in the firecracker units, the charred bodies of two workers were discovered. Mangal Rishi (45) and Ganesh Karmakar (40) were declared brought dead at Malda Medical College and Hospital. They were both employed to unload goods at the market and it is believed they were carrying the carbide drums in the morning. Another worker is in hospital with grave injuries.
The owner of the go-down, Somnath Saha, was not present but questions have been raised over the stocking of so much carbide and firecrackers in such a small place with no safety measures.
TMC leader Kundu said: “If the blaze had occurred during working hours instead of early in the morning, many more lives would have been lost.”
Jayanta Kundu, secretary of MMCC, said: “We stand by the families of the deceased and the traders who suffered losses in this fire.”
BJP leader Amlan Bhaduri, who also went to the site, said: “Illegal hoarding of firecrackers and carbide is going on just metres from a police outpost and the municipality. Is it believable that nobody knew about this?” District magistrate Nitin Singhania said a 7-member committee was being formed to look into the incident and would submit a report within 7 days.
Web Source: The Times of India