Ramgarh: A fire broke out at Venkatesh Sponge Iron Factory under Bhadaninagar police station limits in Ramgarh district on Tuesday, triggering panic, but no casualty was reported.Md Akhtar Ali, officer in-charge of Bhadaninagar outpost police station, said furnace oil suddenly caught fire during welding work. The blaze spread and engulfed the conveyor belt used for coal washing, gutting it. Losses are estimated in lakhs.Factory management shifted labourers to a safe place and alerted Bhadaninagar police, the Jindal Steel fire brigade and the Jharkhand fire department. Three fire engines brought the flames under control after about an hour.The incident has renewed concern over industrial safety in Ramgarh, where three major accidents in five months have killed nine people, including three engineers, in private steel factories.On April 6, five workers were killed and four injured in a furnace explosion at a private steel factory in Hesla. On August 8, one worker died and two were injured after hot metal splashed at a steel and power plant in Murpa.An inquiry found serious fire-safety lapses and negligence. On August 21, three engineers were charred to death in Hehal. Locals want safety audits.
Sponge Iron factory in Ramgarh where fire broke out
