A map of Hapur district, part of Uttar Pradesh, India
Details of the disaster
The explosion took place on a Saturday afternoon[3] at the Ruhi Industries [4] electronic equipment manufacturing unit where 33 people were working.[5] The magnitude caused roofs to blow off houses,[6] with sound travelling 10km away.[4] The factory was owned by Dilshad of Meerut, and had been leased to Wasim of Hapur.[4] After the explosion, Wasim fled the scene after receiving medical treatment but was later arrested.[2] A forensic science laboratory criminal investigation[7] was launched initiated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in order to determine the exact cause of the blast.[6]
After further investigation
Initial reports were of a burst boiler which had caused the explosion.[7] However the subsequent suspected cause was gunpowder used to manufacture toy gun pellets,[7] because police retrieved plastic pellets used in their manufacture from the scene.[7] This was despite the factory's license obtained in 2021 to manufacture electronic equipment not toy guns.[4]
The local response was rapid.[3] The Chief Minister announced a rescue and relief operation with victims to be supported.[3] Firefighters worked for three hours to extinguish the fire,[6] and forensic technicians gathered evidence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to those affected,[4] and the state government offered support for the treatment of victims.[6]
Mortality and morbidity
Thirteen people were killed and 20 injured.[5] Eleven of those who died came from the areas of Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) and Bihar. Wasim, owner of the factory suffered burns and incurred stitches.[2] Victims were taken to hospitals for medical care in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut,[2] including Safdarjung Hospital for optimal treatment.[6]
Consequences
The owner and operator of the factory were charged under Indian Penal Code sections 286, 287, 304, 308, 337 and 338.[5] As a result, further investigations were carried out in neighboring factories to ensure licenses were correctly used.[4]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
