Ahmedabad: Three workers asphyxiate in fire at Odhav factory

AHMEDABAD: Exactly two weeks after seven people were charred to death in a fire in Narol, the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) on Saturday recovered the bodies of three youths from a textile unit in Odhav GIDC area. The trio died due to asphyxiation, investigators say.
According to Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES), they got a call from the Lotus Label unit near Sachcha Sauda Petrol Pump in Odhav at 3.08pm.“Considering the intensity of fire and the nature of the area — several chemical and manufacturing companies are neaby — 14 vehicles were pressed into the fire-fighting operation. The flames were doused in about three hours,” said a senior AFES official.
M F Dastoor, chief fire officer of AFES, said that the three bodies were found in a cabin on the third floor. “The unit had a lot of yarn spools on the third floor, likely a storage area, which had caught fire and had caused a lot of smoke. It is likely that the trio inhaled a lot of smoke due to which they died of asphyxia,” he said. “The unit makes labels that are attached to readymade garments. The trio worked and lived on the premises.”
The deceased were identified as Kamesh Singh, Dayanidhi Khunti and Chinmay Khunti.
R G Jadeja, inspector of Odhav police station, said that they have initiated the procedure to register an FIR against the company officials under IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). “Forensic science experts will be roped in to ascertain the cause of the fire and whether negligence had led to the fire.
Sources privy to the development said the fire had started on the lower floor and caused an LPG cylinder to explode, which led to the rapid spread of the fire. “There was no opening, just one entry point and a few windows, due to which the smoke was trapped inside,” said an AFES official.