Authorities have been ignoring the proliferation of illegal manufacturing units that have mushroomed not far from BARC
Four people have died and 28 others are struggling for life after a massive explosion devastated a bakery in Cheetah Camp in Trombay, on Wednesday at around 1.45 pm in the afternoon. Six of the victims, who are in a ‘very critical yet stable’ condition, were rushed to the intensive care unit of the Sion Hospital, while 22 have been admitted to the burns ward with 60 to 70 per cent burn injuries.
Fire Brigade officials are yet to confirm whether it was an explosion of cooking gas or of an oven used for baking bread. The intensity of the blast was so high that the walls and roof of the building were blown away. While some officials speculated that it could be due to leaked cooking gas, others stated that in the case of cooking gas, the explosion would be of low intensity.
Initially, the first three victims were rushed to the local civic Shatabdi Hospital, of which two were declared dead on arrival and one is still under observation. 30 others were taken to the Sion Hospital which has advanced facilities for treating burn victims. Dr Kamat, Dean of Sion Hospital said, “30 patients were brought here but two were declared dead on arrival. Of the 28 patients here, six are in very critical condition in our intensive care unit.”
Before the fire tenders and ambulances from the Fire Brigade could reach the site of the explosion, local people had already extinguished the fire manually by throwing bucket of waters.
The victims have been identified as Ataullah Khan, Mohmad Afroz, Saida Begam Malika and Zahid Utullah Khan (12). Authorities are worried over the presence of a minor (Zahid) who some say was employed there as his body was found in working area of the bakery. If that is true then a child labour offence could be slapped on the bakery owner.
Official permission from the Public Health department of the BMC is required to set up a bakery in the city. However, till late in the evening, health officials did not find any papers regarding the permission to this particular establishment, leading to speculation that it was an illegal unit.