Bijnor: Seven people died and three others suffered critical injuries after a methane tank exploded at a factory, located eight kilometres away from Bijnor district headquarters towards Nagina town, on Wednesday morning. The blast happened around 8am when the labourers were carrying out welding work to seal the leaking tank at the unit that makes alcohol from molasses. The injured were rushed to district hospital. An FIR under section 304 of the IPC has been filed against the owner of Mohit Petro Chemical factory.The factory owner has given a compensation of Rs 12 lakh each to the kin of all the deceased. The district administration also announced compensation as per the existing schemes, but the total amount to be given has not been calculated yet.After news of the blast spread, family members of the labourers and locals of nearby villages rushed to the factory and alleged that the management of the unit played with the lives of the innocent labourers. The said the factory authorities knew that methane was inflammable but took no precaution for the safety of the labourers. According to family members of the deceased, the duty time was from 9am but the labourers were called around 6am on Wednesday.Meanwhile, police also reached the spot and launched a rescue operation. The injured were taken to the district hospital and the bodies were sent for autopsy. Heavy police force was deployed at the hospital and the factory premises to maintain law and order.The enraged villagers and victims' families also reached the district hospital and created ruckus, and demanded that a compensation of Rs 50 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.The deceased have been identified as Balgovind of Gadheli village, Chetram of Bhareki village, Lokendra of Hadarpur village, Kamalveer of Alavalpur village, Ravi from Gajraula Shiv village, Vikrank from Dhaukalpur village and Abhayram of Alavalpur village. The three injured are Parvendra Kumar from Mauzipur, Satpal of Alavalpur and Gajendra Singh of Muzaffarpur Keso village.Bijnor superintendent of police Umesh Kumar Singh said, “Seven people have died and three suffered critical injuries. We are probing the matter and action will be taken against whoever is found guilty. Prima facie, laxity on the part of the factory management led to the blast.”District magistrate Atal Kumar Rai also rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. He also visited the injured at the district hospital. Rai assured the angry crowd at the hospital that adequate compensation would be given to the injured as well as the kin of the deceased.Regional officer at the Pollution Control Board, G C Verma, said, “Mohit Petro Chemical factory produces alcohol and ethanol from molasses. Methane is produced from the waste, and this gas is used to run the boiler . The methane tank’s capacity is over 20,000 litres. Around 150 labourers work in the factory.”

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