Three employees killed, one injured in fire at Jharkhand steel factory

RANCHI/RAMGARH: At least three employees of a steel factory in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district died and another was injured after a fire broke out at the unit, police said on Saturday.

The blaze broke out in the captive power plant of the steel factory at Helal around midnight on Friday, they said.

"At least four employees suffered severe burn injuries. Three of them died during treatment at a hospital," Ramgarh SP Mukesh Kumar Lunayat told PTI.

He said the exact cause of the fire is being investigated.

Barkakana police station in-charge Uma Shankar Verma said the deceased have been identified as Sanjeev Kumar Kesri (50), resident of Ranchi, Vinit Mahto (25), who hailed from Bokaro, and Abhishek Pandey (24), a resident of Garhwa district.

Injured Tarun Rajwar is undergoing treatment at a Ranchi Road-based private hospital.

Chief factory inspector Manish Sinha said, "The fire broke out in the captive power plant of the steel factory Maa Chinnamastika Ispat. A two-member team, comprising a factory inspector and Chotanagpur deputy chief inspector, has been sent to the site for investigation."

According to eyewitnesses, a large number of workers were present at the factory at that time, they said.

He claimed that the plant caught fire following a blast in the turbine, which was allegedly caused by overheating of a control panel.

Police, however, said the claim was being investigated.