Agra: A 22-year-old man was charred to death and two others suffered severe burn injuries after a drum filled with chemical — used in the shoe industry — exploded at a godown here in the city on Wednesday morning. The incident was reported from Ramnagar area under the jurisdiction of Shahganj police station in Agra.The entire godown was gutted, and close to 12 men were working in the godown when the incident took place. The victim, Rohan Chandra, along with Rajesh Chand and Kalu, was pouring the highly inflammable chemical into another drum when the explosion took place.After the explosion, the chemical spilled all over the area and hutments closed to the godown also caught fire, forcing the local people to evacuate the area.Fire tenders rushed to the area and managed to bring the fire under control within a few hours.According to chief fire officer Sunil Kumar Singh, “The chemical godown was unauthorised and lacked safety measure.”When asked about the cause of explosion, Singh said, “A short circuit or a burning cigarette might have caused the explosion in the chemical godown. We are probing the matter. The victims were working as shoemakers at Mahesh Chandra property.”No case has been registered so far, said police.According to a local resident, Mukesh Kumar, “We were in our homes when around 11 am a loud explosion shook the area. One of the victim died on the spot while local people managed to save the other two men who were working inside the godown.”

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