Eight killed as factory wall collapses in Himachal's Baddi

Eight persons, four of them children, were killed and over a dozen others were injured early on Wednesday when a 60-foot high boundary wall of a sick industrial unit collapsed on adjoining makeshift hutments in Himachal Pradesh's Baddi town, officials said.

The tragedy occurred just about an hour after midnight Tuesday when a raging storm hit Saraj Majra village, some 120 km from state capital Shimla, an official told IANS. Most victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh.

Some of the injured were referred to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, about 30 km from Baddi industrial town.

Labourers were living in the shanties built against the industrial unit's perimeter wall. The unit is lying shut and has been mortgaged with a bank.

Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar said the victims were "living illegally on government land".

--IANS

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