Fire at Surat textile unit; fire officer, 5 workers injured

The chief fire officer of thecivic body was among six persons injured in a major fire thatbroke out at a textile dyeing mill in Surat city of Gujarat onFriday, an official said.

The fire started at the Shree Labdhi Prints factorylocated near Bhawani circle on Ashwani Kumar Road around 3 pmand was brought under control around 6 pm, said DeputyMunicipal Commissioner, Fire and Emergency, N V Upadhyay.

The fire brigade rushed 10 fire tenders to the spot tocontrol the blaze.

Around 35 persons were working in the mill when thefire broke out, said Upadhyay.

''While some workers came out safely on their own, firebrigade personnel rescued around 20 others. Five of them whohad sustained minor injuries were admitted to a nearbyhospital,'' the official said.

Chief Fire Officer Basant Parikh, who suffered 12 percent burn injuries during the dousing operation, was alsoadmitted to the hospital, he added.

Nobody sustained serious injuries and all six were outof danger, the deputy commissioner added.

It was suspected that polyester fabric may have caughtfire due to a spark from a machine but the exact cause was yetto be ascertained, Upadhyay said.

A representative of the factory had said earlier thata spark from an electric motor apparently triggered the blaze.

A worker who managed to escape from the building intime told reporters that all his colleagues came out safelyeither by using staircase or by climbing down the treesadjacent to windows.