1 dead, 4 injured in fire at Jharkhand's power plant

Ramgarh, Sep 22 (PTI) One worker was killed and four others were injured in a fire at a private steel and power plant in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district on Monday, police said.

The fire incident was reported at the plant under the Kuju police outpost this morning, Ramgarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Kumar said.

"One person was killed in the fire, while four others sustained injuries," he said.

Kuju Thana Outpost in-charge Ashutosh Kumar Singh said that the plant officials claimed that the accident took place during kiln charging, as a sudden backfire caused burn injuries to the workers.

"The deceased has been identified as 50-year-old Netlal Thakur, a resident of Murpa Basti in Kuju, who had sustained critical injuries. He later died during treatment at Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi," he said.

Another worker, Abdul Ansari from Chumba, also suffered serious burn injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said.

Three other workers, identified as Anup Singh from Ranchi, Baldev Marandi from Dumarbeda, and Dharmendra from Ramnagar, received minor injuries and were discharged after primary medical care, the police officer said.

Locals staged a protest outside the plant gate, demanding compensation and employment for the deceased worker’s family.

Police and administrative officials, including the Kuju Thana Outpost in charge, reached the spot and managed to control the situation.

The authorities have assured the deceased's family that the process to provide financial assistance has been initiated. PTI CORR ANB BDC