Fire breaks out in Ludhiana hosiery factory

Ludhiana: A fire broke out at a hosiery factory on Bahadur Ke Road here, but the 12 workers who were inside the facility managed to escape, the police said today. However, a boy, Surinder Kumar, who was sitting outside the premises of the factory, has told the police that his father Ram Ashish, who was on night duty, was missing. 

Police Commissioner S S Gill said, “We are considering the boy’s complaint very seriously.”  Smoke was noticed emanating from the factory past last midnight, and then fire engulfed the two-storeyed building. According to police, 12 workers were inside the unit when the fire broke out, and all of them managed to come out of the factory.

Twelve fire tenders of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation were pressed into service to douse the flames, a fire department official said. Additional Fire Officer of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, Bhupinder Singh Sandhu said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, but it was believed to have been caused by an electric short circuit.

Machinery, finished goods and raw material in the factory was gutted. Cracks appeared in walls of the factory building after the fire, police and fire department officials said.