2 die as container falls on them in Porbandar factory

RAJKOT: Two persons, including an engineer, were killed and three others injured when an overhead container filled with raw material, fell on them at the soda ash manufacturing facility of Saurashtra Chemicals, a unit of Nirma Group, on Wednesday. This is a second industrial accident in the factory in the last two months.
Following the incident, the work at the factory has been suspended with immediate effect under the orders of the Probandar district collector A M Sharma, who has also ordered a probe into the incident.According to police, the accident took place when repair work was going on on the overhead container in which raw material was being poured through a conveyor belt.
“I have ordered a detailed industrial safety audit and only after that, the work will resume at the factory. There have been two incidents in a short span of time. We will try to understand why this has happened. Was the accident caused due to human error or were the machines old and needs to be replaced. An assessment is being done by the deputy director of industrial safety in this regard,” Sharma told TOI.
The deceased include the engineer Hiren Agrawat (29) and labourer Pratap Odedara (30). While Hiren died on the spot, Pratap succumbed to injuries at Rajkot civil hospital. Out of the three injured labourers, one is critical and is being treated at Rajkot civil hospital. Two other labourers are admitted to Porbandar civil hospital.
Sources said that the district industrial safety officer had completed a safety training program at Saurashtra Chemicals last week. This training was done to create awareness among workers in wake of an industrial accident at a cement factory in Ranavav last month.
“The deputy director of industrial safety is conducting an investigation. Based on his report, if any negligence is found, an FIR will be registered against those responsible,” said H P Dhandhaliya, police inspector of Kamlabaug police station in Porbandar. The factory is located on Porbandar-Veraval road and employs over 2,000 workers.