SAS Nagar, August 6- A major explosion occurred at around 9 am today due to a cylinder explosion in the oxygen plant named ‘Hi-Tech Industry’ located in Phase 9 industrial area of Mohali. The explosion was so loud that its sound was heard two to three kilometers away.
According to the information received, this morning, the employees in the factory were filling gas in the cylinder when suddenly the cylinder exploded. The cylinder explosion caused a loud explosion. Along with this, pieces of the cylinder and human body parts flew into the air from the factory and fell on the road outside.
Former Mohali councilor Sukhminder Singh Barnala, who had gone to wash his car at a service station adjacent to the factory at the time of the incident, said that a loud explosion took place here at around 9 am and along with this, human body parts (including fingers and other pieces) fell on the road outside the factory. He said that immediately after the explosion, a crowd gathered there and people started the work of evacuating the people working in the factory. DSP City 2 Harsimran Singh Bal, who reached the spot, said that oxygen cylinders are filled in this factory and according to the initial investigation, the cylinder suddenly exploded while the cylinder was being filled, due to which two people working in the factory, Asif and Davinder, died, while four people, Sarvesh, Ashok, Sachin and Akbar, were injured. He said that the injured have been admitted to the Civil Hospital in Mohali and the bodies are being sent to the hospital for postmortem.
The blast was so strong that the walls of the nearby houses also shook and the roof of the factory was also damaged. As soon as the information about the accident was received, a team of doctors, police and district administration officials immediately reached the spot. The injured have been admitted to the Civil Hospital in Phase 6 for treatment, where their condition is said to be out of danger. The police have evacuated the entire area and all the cylinders are being examined.
According to police officials, this factory used to supply nitrogen and oxygen cylinders by filling them. At present, the exact reason for the explosion has not been clear. The investigation into the matter is ongoing. SDM Damanjit Kaur also said that a thorough investigation is being carried out into the incident. Family members of the deceased said that their duty is till 6 pm, but they were working overtime. According to people, this factory has been running for about 30 years and oxygen cylinders are sent to government and private hospitals of the tricity from here.
The owner of the factory, Mr. R. S. Sachdeva, said that he was not in the factory when the accident happened. He said that the cylinder suddenly exploded while filling the cylinder at around 9 am, due to which two employees died and four were injured. He said that the company will make arrangements for the rehabilitation of the employees who were affected by the accident and they will be given due compensation.
Meanwhile, Mohali Deputy Mayor Mr. Kuljit Singh Bedi, Mohali industrialists Harinder Pal Singh Billa, Ashok Gupta, K. S. Mahal, Baljit Singh, Jasbir Singh, Akali Dal Vice President Paramjit Singh Kahlon and others visited the scene of the incident and expressed grief over the accident.