Lucknow- In a tragic incident, at least seven migrant labourers hailing from Jammu were killed and more than 30 sustained injuries after a compressor exploded in cold storage in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district on Friday.
Quoting an official a report said that the explosion took place in the afternoon and at least 40 workers were present on the site.
The deceased have been identified as Balwant, Baldev, Balbir Singh, Sat Pal, Ramesh Lal, Kalu — all residents of Udhampur and Hoshiywar Singh of Ramban.
The labourers had come to Meerut to pick potatoes in the cold storage. Most of them were aged between 35 and 50 and were the sole breadwinners of their families.
According to the police, the incident took place in Daurala town. The deceased were inside the cold storage when a wall collapsed on them during the explosion. However, preliminary investigation revealed that the incident took place allegedly due to leakage of ammonia gas inside the cold storage that was used to store potatoes.
District administrative and police officials along with a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have rushed to the spot, the police told reporters, adding that 27 people had been rescued from under the rubble and efforts were on to find others. The injured labourers have been shifted to a private hospital in Meerut, said police.
“The roof collapsed after an explosion in the cold storage. More than 18 labourers have been rescued till now, 12 injured were admitted to hospital. As per locals, 25 labourers were inside the cold storage when the incident took place. We are confirming this. The rescue process is underway,” Deepak Meena, District Magistrate, Meerut, told reporters.
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