GUWAHATI: Four persons, including a resident of Tripura's Agartala, died after melted metal exploded inside a metal processing industry in Assam's Cachar district on Sunday morning, July 26, officials said.
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The explosion took place at around 11 am at Kade Global Infrastructure LLP's metal processing unit at Pangram under Udharbond constituency.
Locals said that the blast was so powerful that it was heard across the locality.
The residents said that they rushed to the spot after hearing a massive explosion and found the victims' bodies severely dismembered, with body parts scattered across the area.
"The sound was deafening. When we reached the spot, we saw that the bodies had been torn apart, with body parts scattered over a wide area," a local resident said.
Police, fire and emergency personnel rushed to the factory soon after the explosion and rescued several injured workers.
While some were shifted to hospitals for treatment, others sustained minor injuries and later returned home.
The deceased were identified as Appu Boraik (32), Kiron Munda (28), Shyamal Gaur and Sagar Nath from Tripura's Agartala.
Police said all four died on the spot. After doctors at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) confirmed the deaths, the bodies were sent for postmortem examination.
"The bodies have been identified by the family members. A case will be registered and further investigation is underway," Cachar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjeev Saikia said.
According to the police, Kade Global Infrastructure LLP was established in the area a few years ago and operates two units where scrap metal collected from different sources is processed.
Sunday's explosion occurred at the newer unit at Pangram, which was set up around a year ago.
Assam minister Kaushik Rai, who visited the spot, said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered along with a police investigation and a separate probe by the District Labour Commissioner to ascertain whether mandatory safety measures for workers were followed.
"The district administration has sought details from the owners regarding the safety measures being followed in the factory. The exact cause of the explosion is also being investigated. At present, a four-layer investigation is underway," Rai said.
He said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had called him to take stock of the situation and assured that the state government would provide ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
"We will also ask the company owners to provide adequate compensation to the family members," he added.
Local residents alleged that similar explosions of comparatively lower intensity had taken place at the factory several times in the past but were never officially reported.
"They don't allow us to go inside, but such incidents have happened several times before. The victims never showed up afterwards and, as per our knowledge, they were workers from other states who were quietly sent back. We want a proper investigation into everything," a local resident alleged.
The family members of one of the deceased, Appu Boraik, echoed the allegations and claimed that the management initially tried to hide Sunday's incident as well.
Responding to the allegations, Rai said that if evidence of previous incidents emerges during the investigation, the government will examine those as well.
The owners of Kade Global Infrastructure LLP could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this report.