Cold storage explosion: No licence; owner booked

The cold storage in Shivrajpur, where an explosion claimed five lives, did not have a licence and three people, including its owner, have been booked in the case, police said on Thursday.

District administration has also ordered a departmental inquiry following the initial findings of the probe which revealed that the facility was working without any permit and was found storing potato packets beyond its capacity.

The cold storage, where ammonia leakage from its gas chamber led to an explosion which caused a part of the building's structure to fall, was being operated without any licence, Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur City, Akash Kulhari said.

A three-member team has been constituted to inspect such facilities in the area, even as rescue and relief operation at the mishap site was underway, District Magistrate, Kanpur, Kaushal Raj Sharma said.

Five labourers had died and another eight suffered serious injuries in the incident on Wednesday. The five deceased have been identified as Sanjay Jadhav (28) Swadesh Katiyar (28), Bhumeshwar Ram (32) Rambali Ram (30) and Sanjay (30), chief medical officer Dr Ramayan Prasad said.

Except for Katiyar, who was a local, all others hailed from Bihar.