PATNA: At least six people were killed and five others were seriously injured after an explosion in the boiler unit of a noodle-making factory at Bela Industrial area in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on Sunday.
The injured have been rushed to the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital for further treatment. Rescue teams have been pressed into service to remove the debris from the spot.
The explosion was so powerful that its tremor was felt in a radius of two kilometers, locals said. On hearing the sound of the explosion, people from nearby industrial units rushed to the spot only to find at least many people lying in a pool of blood and some with serious injuries.
Muzaffarpur district magistrate Pranav Kumar confirmed the death of five people in the incident. “Those injured in the incident have been admitted to the Sadar Hospital and the SKMCH for treatment,” he told TINE over a telephonic conversation. He admitted that some other buildings of nearby industrial units were also damaged due to the impact of the explosion.
“Investigation is on to ascertain the cause of the explosion,” he said.
Senior police and administrative officials have rushed to the site. The area has been condoned off as a precautionary measure and people are not allowed inside. The exact numbers of the injured and death are still not confirmed, Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police Jayant Kant said.
An eye witness, Dharmendra Kumar, a resident of Manika village near Musahari, said that the blast was so powerful that he felt like an earthquake in the area.
