Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Survivors and their families have alleged that the factory management had hired the workers, mainly from Bihar, under false pretences.
Naveen, brother of the critically injured Niranjan Ram, said that workers were hired on a monthly salary of Rs 14,000 under the pretext of ‘dust and soil-related labour’ but were forced to handle gunpowder.
Despite the scorching heat, there was no water sprinkling system in place to stabilise the volatile gunpowder, and no firefighting equipment was available on the premises.
At the time of the blast, nearly 700 labourers were on-site, with 15 workers inside the gunpowder room where the blast occurred. Following the explosion, the supervisor and contractor reportedly fled the scene instead of helping the victims. Witnesses reported that nine drums of gunpowder were kept open and exposed at the site.
Pulled out brother from debris: Naveen
One of the workers, Naveen, said he had to search for his younger brother, Niranjan, amid screams of the injured and panic among the workers.
”The room was littered with cement chunks and the sheet of the roof had been torn apart. Several fire extinguishers remained scattered on the ground. Niranjan was screaming with pain from the burns as I pulled him out.
Niranjan said that some workers and I were working outside the room and rushed in after the blast. But the labour contractor and factory management personnel, who were supposed to help, were not there.
The blast, which killed three workers and left 15 injured, took place around 11 am in a 25-by-25-foot room where 15 to 20 workers handled gunpowder-related work.
SEVEN INJURED BROUGHT TO INDORE
Seven people injured were rushed to Indore for urgent medical care, with three of them currently fighting for their lives at MY Hospital.
The three critically injured victims, identified as Ram Kumar and Niranjan Ram of Araria, Bihar, and Ajay Paswan of Bhawanipur, Bihar, remain in critical condition after sustaining between 75% and 90% burns. Meanwhile, four other victims—Amit Dev (19), Amit Kumar Mandal (19), Laltu (22), and Roshan (19) are undergoing treatment at Choithram Hospital. Their conditions are reported to be stable, as they sustained burns covering 10% to 25% of their bodies.
NEGLIGENCE DURING TRANSPORTATION
The administration’s apathy became evident the moment the victims were referred from Dewas. Reports indicate that the injured were sent to Indore without even basic first aid. The patients screamed in agony throughout the journey as they were not administered an intravenous (IV line) for pain relief or fluids in Dewas or inside the ambulance. The MY Hospital Superintendent, Dr Yadav, told reporters that specialists are keeping the patients under constant observation as the risk of infection remains extremely high.
Deputy CM and other leaders visit victims
The Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda, Cabinet Minister Tulsi Silawat, Dewas MP Mahendra Singh Solanki, and MLA Rajesh Sonkar visited the MY Hospital to check on the victims. They assured that the state would closely monitor the treatment, though the families remain distraught over the lack of oversight that led to the incident.
