SAMBALPUR – At least 28 people suffered severe burn injuries after a major fire broke out at a gutkha factory in Odisha’s Sambalpur district on Monday, officials said.
All the injured are employees of the factory at Pardhiapali.
About 150 employees were working in the unit when a pouch making machine caught fire probably due to some electrical fault, factory supervisor Rochak Gour said.
Sambalpur Superintendent of Police Battula Gangadhar said an investigation would be launched to ascertain the exact cause behind the blaze.
It took the fire brigade around an hour to control the blaze.
Workers rescued their injured colleagues from inside the factory.
Of the 28 injured people, six are undergoing treatment at a local hospital while 11 others, the condition of whom was serious, were shifted to the Rourkela Ispat General Hospital, an official said.
The rest were discharged after preliminary treatment.
