Fourteen workers injured in fire accident in Pondy pharma factory

Fourteen workers were injured in a fire accident at a pharma factory in neighbouring Kalapet on Sunday night, police said.Eleven of the workers were rushed to a super specialty hospital in Chennai while the remaining three were admitted to a local hospital, police added.Fire fighting units were rushed from several areas in Puducherry to bring the fire under control, police said.

Fourteen workers were injured in a fire accident at a pharma factory in neighbouring Kalapet on Sunday night, police said.

Eleven of the workers were rushed to a super specialty hospital in Chennai while the remaining three were admitted to a local hospital, police added.

Fire fighting units were rushed from several areas in Puducherry to bring the fire under control, police said. Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said in a release on Sunday that a detailed probe would be conducted to identify the cause of the fire. Official sources said that the Inspector of Factories of Puducherry government issued a notice on Sunday to the factory prohibiting with immediate effect ''any further use of the pharma and packaging blocks''. Meanwhile, the residents of villages nearby held a demonstration at the factory protesting against the ''lack of safety measures'', as they said that such accidents were taking place quite often, posing a threat to the safety of the villagers. Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from Puducherry S Selvaganapathy (BJP) and the legislator from Kalapet P M L Kalyanasundaram (BJP) visited the factory and pacified the agitating villagers. They also visited the hospital where workers were undergoing treatment for their injuries.