"nine persons (workers) with 70- 80% burns....." UPDATED

The supply of natural gas to our factories is commonly delivered by underground pipes. But, in many countries the delivery of natural gas or propane is by pressure vessels. It is these pressure vessels that can be dangerous if they leak.

A leaking gas cylinder caught fire at a factory in an industrial area in India, leaving 12 workers seriously injured. The injured were rushed to a private hospital from where nine of them were referred to another hospital. Those referred to have been identified as seven workers, and the general manager of the unit, and one of the owners of the factory. Three workers have been admitted to a private hospital. Officials said six fire tenders took two hours to douse the flames at the aluminium products' factory. The industrial fire safety team of the district administration also reached the spot for an inspection. Sources said there were 10 other gas cylinders at the unit. The industrial area was vacated till the situation was brought under control, they added. Fire officer said, "We struggled for around two hours and used foam to douse the flames.

The doctor, who handled the injured at the private hospital in said, "We received nine persons with 70- 80% burns and we referred them to (another hospital)." Acting on the complaint of an injured worker, who was discharged after getting first aid, the local police registered a case against the owners of the unit under Sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC and 3 (punishment for causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property) and 5 (punishment for making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances) of the Explosive Substance Act. "Further investigation is under progress," local city offical said. "Our industrial fire safety team is investigating the case. We will act after getting a report on the same," said local deputy commissioner.

We pray that all the workers recover fully from their injuries.

About a decade ago, we were told that to determine the mortality rate of a burn victim, multiple the % burns by 2, if the total passes 100, the individual normally succumbs to their injuries. So, we are saddened because we expect the workers with 70-80% will succumb to their injuries. So we pray harder that these workers will survive their burns.

So what happened? Like normal the news media articles do not cover what occurred. Just the sad aftermath. We can only make an assumption. That the at least one gas cylinder leaked gas and ignited. We wonder if the gas leak was going on for a while and filled the work area with gas prior to ignition. The high % burns was caused by flammable clothing worn by the workers in our opinion.

We will update this story when further information comes forth.

Please comment.

UPDATE

We are sad to report that two of the injured workers have succumbed to their injuries. We will update further if any news comes forth.