Kanpur: Major fire breaks out in a chemical factory at Panki Industrial area

KANPUR: A major fire broke out in a chemical factory at Panki Industrial area, creating panic here on Friday afternoon. No casualties so far have been reported.
The fire engulfed Crimson Inks factory located at site no: 4 in Sarai Meeta in Panki industrial area. The factory belongs to one Ajit Kumar Jain, a resident of Krishna nagar. More than two dozen fire tenders were pressed into service. The fire resulted in chaos in the Panki Industrial area as locals complained of breathlessness after inhaling fumes and smoke, besides flames were visible even as far as 2 km away from the factory.
A large quantity of extremely combustible chemicals, were stored here, a fire department official told TOI.The fire was first spotted by factory employees and after their efforts to control it proved futile, they alerted the fire control room and subsequently to their employer. Fire spread swiftly in the vicinity after chemical spilled. Fearing that fire may engulf the nearby factories, godowns and houses, fire officials and police evacuated people present there.
"It is a major fire that spread rapidly when the drums containing highly inflammable solvents, burst one by one after coming in contact with the blaze," a senior fire official said.
"We are yet to establish the exact cause behind the fire, but it appears the incident would have taken place due to an electric short circuit in the factory," he said and added, "When we reached the site, a few employees were present inside the factory. With the assistance of police, we managed to rescue all of them," he said.
"There are no reports about anyone getting injured by fire so far, except locals of the area complained of breathlessness after inhaling fumes and smoke. Fire fighters are still battling to control the blaze from spreading further ," said SSP Anant Deo.
"Investigations so far have revealed that the factory is owned by Ajit Kumar Jain, a resident of Krishna nagar, and it used to manufacture inks from chemicals," said another police official supervising the operation.