Panchkula furniture factory fire leaves 3 dead

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, November 2

Three persons, including two women, died of suffocation and severe burn injuries when a fire broke out at a furniture factory, Westwood, in the Industrial Area, Phase II, here this afternoon.

The deceased have been identified as Avdesh Kumar (21), a resident of Mauli Jagran, Sonali Devi (30), who, along with her family, was living in a factory in Panchkula, and Mamta, a native of Nepal.

At least 10 fire engines were pressed into service. It took firemen about three hours to control the blaze. A short circuit was stated to be the cause of the fire.

The fire broke out around 1.30 pm on the second floor of the factory located at plot number 268. It then spread to the first floor destroying furniture and other items worth Rs30 lakh. Both Avdesh Kumar and Sonali Devi died on the factory premises.

Avdesh’s brother Krishan Pal said a large number of furniture items and other goods were kept on the second floor of the factory, leaving little space for movement. He said Avdesh and Sonali, who were on the second floor, could not run away to save their lives and became unconscious due to dense smoke. They suffered burn injuries, leading to their death on the spot. He said Avdesh had got married nearly four months ago.

Sonali’s husband Satyanarayan said with her death, there would be no one to look after their two children, Neha and Mahesh, as he had to go for work at a factory. After receiving information about the incident, senior officials of the police reached the site. Panchkula ACP Vijay Kumar Nehra, DSP Sardara Singh, the SHO of the Sector 20 police station and Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohit Handa also reached there.

Haryana Assembly Speaker and local MLA Gian Chand Gupta, Panchkula Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal and councillor Harender Malik too reached the spot and sought information about the reason of the incident. Offering condolences to the victims’ families, Gupta assured that every possible help would be provided to them. He also instructed the district fire officer, Tarsem, to confirm whether there was a hydrant in the Industrial Area and was it functional or not. He said a proposal be sent to him to set up a hydrant in the area in case it was not available.