In a major fire that broke out at a cracker warehouse at Aladakatti village in Haveri district on Tuesday, three workers were charred to death and three, including a woman residing next to the warehouse, have been admitted in hospital.
The deceased have been identified as 45-year-old Dyamappa Olekar, 28-year-old Ramesh Barik and 28-year-old Shivalinga Akki of Katenahalli village who worked at the house. The bodies were charred.
And, 32-year-old Wasim Shafi Ahmed of Tegginkeri in Harihar taluk, who had come for welding work, reportedly jumped out of the building from the first floor to escape from the fire. He was found unconscious with a broken backbone.
Along with him, another worker Sheru Malappa Kattimani, who too suffered injuries, has been admitted to hospital in Davangere.
The woman identified as Kalavati K.S., who resides next to the warehouse, fell sick after inhaling the smoke and has been admitted to the district hospital in Haveri.
The warehouse belongs to Bhoomika Distributors owned by Viresh Satenhalli of Haveri. He is said to have procured crackers worth over ₹1 crore for sales during the Ganesh festival and Deepavali. The warehouse is located in Aladakatti village on the Haveri-Hanagal Main Road. He has also opened a shop next to the warehouse.
According to eyewitnesses, as the crackers started bursting, a thick cloud of smoke engulfed the whole area forcing the residents of nearby localities to run helter-skelter. There was tension in the air for some time as the residents felt that there could be a blast as the warehouse had a huge stock of crackers.
Soon, Fire and Emergency Services personnel rushed to the spot and tried to extinguish the fire. Due to the thick smoke, they were unable to enter the premises but sprayed from the water jet from outside. The bursting of crackers continued for a few hours and the fire engulfed the first floor of the warehouse also.
As the cracker shop is located next to the warehouse, the personnel took care to ensure that the fire did not spread to it. After nearly a five-hour operation involving five fire engines and 25 personnel, the fire was doused.
On being alerted, Superintendent of Police Shivakumar Gunare rushed to the spot and monitored the entire operation. Member of Legislative Assembly Basavaraj Shivannavar, Deputy Commissioner of Haveri Raghunandan Murthy, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Akshay Sridhar and others visited the spot.
As it is suspected that two more persons might be trapped in the warehouse, the Fire and Emergency Services personnel and police continued the search after the fire was extinguished.
The cause of fire is yet to be identified. It is suspected that sparks during welding work might have ignited the fire.
