6 dead in Bihar factory blast

MUZAFFARPUR: At least six people were killed and several others injured when a boiler explosion inside a factory exploded in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on Sunday morning, officials said.

The injured were rushed to Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in the district, where their condition was said to be critical.

Officials of the local administration, police, and fire department rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations.

Confirming the deaths, Jayant Kant, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Muzaffarpur, said the incident occurred at a noodles factory located in Bela Phase-2 under Bela police station. “Around six people were injured. We are looking into the matter,” said Kant. The bodies were sent for postmortem examination, he said.

The sound was heard far and wide and the rooftops of many other buildings in the area were blown away by the impact of the collision which reduced the factory to rubble, said district magistrate Pranay Kumar.

The cause of the incident was yet to be ascertained. When contacted, KP Singh, chief boiler inspector, Patna, said, “An accident has occurred. The exact cause of the same could not be known immediately”.

People familiar with the matter, quoting eyewitnesses, said the incident around 10 am. “The intensity of the blast was so severe that its sound was heard up to 5km away,” a local said. Chief minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh for the next of the kin of each the deceased and constituted a team to investigate the cause of the blast and fix accountability.