Muzaffarpur boiler blast incident due to misoperation, says Bihar Minister

Bihar Minister Jivesh Mishra has termed the Muzaffarpur boiler blast an "incident due to misoperation"

Bihar Minister Jivesh Mishra has termed the Muzaffarpur boiler blast in a noodle factory that took place on Sunday morning and claimed the lives of at least seven labourers and left seven injured, an "incident due to misoperation".

Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Mishra said, "The factory was established in 2020 after it met all the required parameters for establishing a factory. The certification of the boiler that blasted was done in May 2021 by the department. Prima facie, it seems that the incident took place due to misoperation. A probe has been ordered. We can't say anything substantive until it's done. The state government has announced ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the families of the deceased."

The minister further informed that he has directed the officials to provide the compensation to the labourers' families based on the Compensation Act of the labour resource department.

"Based on the Compensation Act of the labour resource department, I have directed the officials to provide the compensation of the labourers' families after holding a meeting with the factory director. The government will provide treatment to all the injured labourers," he said.

Seven people were killed and seven others were injured in a boiler blast in a noodle factory in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Sunday.

State Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Ram Surat Rai said, "The incident is extremely unfortunate. A total of seven people have died while the other seven are injured. A high-level inquiry will be done into the incident. In my opinion, the factory rules were violated as it was operating on Sunday even though factories are closed on that day. The reason behind this will be found out in the inquiry and strict action will be taken against the ones found guilty," said Rai while talking to the media.

As per locals, the explosion was so strong that it was heard 5 km away from the blast site.

As per officials, the blast took place at 10 am. The adjacent factories were also damaged in the explosion. The police said that the identities of the labourers who died in the accident are yet to be ascertained as the body parts of the deceased were blown away in the blast.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the accident at a factory in Muzaffarpur.

The injured would be given Rs 50,000 each, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex gratia amount of Rs 4 lakhs each to the families of the deceased in the boiler blast incident.