30 hours on, part of Thane factory still in flames
By IANSWednesday, April 14, 2010
MUMBAI - A fire that engulfed the edible oil manufacturing major Liberty Oil Mills’ factory in Maharashtra’s Thane district continued to rage Wednesday morning, 30 hours after it had started.
The roof of the burning building in Bamne village collapsed around 2 a.m. Wednesday, said police inspector Shivnath Shinde of Shahapur police station. There are no injuries.
“Though the fire has not spread more, it continues to rage in view of the huge quantities of inflammables that were stored in the premises, but experts will investigate further,” Shinde told IANS.
The fire broke out around 5.30 a.m. Tuesday at the mills sprawling compound in the village, located about 90 km northeast from Mumbai.
Firefighting operations continued, but Shinde could not say how long it would take to completely douse the flames.
He added that more than 20 fire engines and 20 tankers from Shahapur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Bhiwandi and Nashik were still on the site.
Residents of surrounding eight villages were kept on high alert for evacuation if the need arises.
The company produces several well-known brands of edible oils and others foods like Anchor, Amber, Chanda and Sunday.
