Bagalkot: At least six people were killed in an explosion in a boiler at a sugar factory in Bagalkot district of Karnataka on Sunday, December 16.
“Six people have died on the spot due to the blast in the boiler of the sugar factory in Kulali village,” a police control room official told IANS from Mudhol, about 550 km northwest of Bengaluru.
At least three others were injured in the blast, the official added.
The sugar factory is run by the Nirani Group- owned by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker from the state, Murugesh Nirani, and his brothers Sangamesh and Hanumantha.
The factory consists of around 150 boilers, in which the exploded boiler is said to be the district’s largest boiler. The explosion reduced the entire factory to mere debris.
After the incident, Deputy Commissioner K G Shantharam along with Superintendent of Police C B Ryshyanth and Murugesh Nirani’s brother Hanumanth Nirani rushed to the spot to assess the situation.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy also directed district officials to shift the injured to hospitals immediately and asked for the site to be inspected to ascertain the cause of the explosion.
“The death of the six people in the blast in the sugar factory is saddening. Bagalkot district officials have been directed to conduct a probe and submit a report. The State government will provide compensation to the deceased’s kin,” a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
With inputs from IANS
