Death Toll Rises to Five in Jalna Steel Factory Explosion

The boiler explosion at Gaj Kesari Steel Factory in Jalna, Maharashtra, resulted in five fatalities as workers succumbed to burn injuries. The blast injured 22 workers, with seven critically hurt. Authorities have charged factory management, and labor leaders demand culpable homicide charges against the owners for neglecting worker safety.

The death toll from last week's boiler explosion at Gaj Kesari Steel Factory in Jalna, Maharashtra, has climbed to five, police confirmed on Wednesday. Three more workers succumbed to burn injuries at a private hospital.

The incident occurred in the MIDC area on Saturday afternoon, injuring 22 workers, seven of them critically, as molten iron fell on them. Three severely burned workers, namely Pintu Jena (40), Ramdya Dhurvu (22), and Ranjit Prajapati (28), died from their injuries, adding to the casualties.

Two other workers had already died from burn injuries earlier in the week. Police have booked the factory manager, Dilip Jha, furnace in-charge Sudhakar Roy, and crane driver Ashok Prajapati based on a complaint by an injured worker. A labor union leader has called for culpable homicide charges against the factory's owners for neglecting worker safety.

(With inputs from agencies.)