Ground report: Massive fire breaks out in plastic manufacturing unit in Vijayawada – Laporan lapangan: Kebakaran besar terjadi di unit manufaktur plastik di Vijayawada
No loss of life has been reported, while property loss is estimated at between Rs 4 crore and Rs 6 crore.
ALL IMAGES: CHARAN TEJAA major fire broke out in Vijayawada’s new Autonagar area on Thursday morning, after a plastic manufacturing factory went up in flames.
Nearly 100 workers in the company were rescued due to the timely intervention of the locals, and no casualties have been reported so far.
The company was called Anjaneya plastic monitors and was reportedly owned by one Sudhakar.
Speaking to TNM, M Sudhakar said that he valued the loss of machinery and property at between Rs 4 crore and Rs 6 crore.
Visuals showed thick smoke emanating from the area, even as close to 16 fire engines were deployed to douse the fire, and four fire tenders attempted to control the smoke.
Personnel from the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department were present at the spot along with a few members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Eyewitnesses said that the fire broke out in the morning and spread rapidly.
“The fire broke out at around 10:30am and I rushed out after we heard a huge blast when the fire spread to a transformer,” one local worker said.
“We had just started working when we heard the blast. The smoke slowly grew thicker and engulfed the area,” Prasad, a mechanic, said.
Some locals also told media outlets that there was a delay in the fire engines reaching the spot, as media channels who were informed about the incident, reached before them.
Locals said that the situation turned worse when some oil drums in a neighbouring factory in the industrial area also caught fire.
“The flames got bigger and out of control due to the oil drums catching fire in the factory next to it,” a resident said.
Water for the fire tenders was being provided by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), as the vehicles took turns at dousing the fire.
Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner J Nivas and District Collector B Lakshmikantham were supervising the firefighting operation.
Besides officers of the city police, a battalion of the Andhra Pradesh Special Police was also deployed at the spot.
Police blocked nearby roads and cut off access to the area, to ensure that the firefighting operation went on unhindered.
Were safety measures ignored?
Several locals alleged that the company did not follow safety measures. Even as this reporter observed, it was evident that the company had dumped several mounds of plastic scrap across the premises of the factory, which could have led to the fire escalating quickly.
Shaik Sharif, the owner of a neighbouring sofa manufacturing unit said, “They were constantly dumping plastic waste everywhere, including on the road. There were also some cans that were used to paint the plastic after it was manufactured. Those could have also led to the fire escalating quickly.”
Sharif said that he suffered a loss of property roughly estimated at Rs 50 lakh and blamed it on the carelessness of the plastic unit.
Terjemahan Bebas:
Laporan lapangan: Kebakaran besar terjadi di unit manufaktur plastik di Vijayawada
Tidak ada korban jiwa yang dilaporkan, sementara kerugian harta benda diperkirakan antara Rs 4 crore dan Rs 6 crore.
Laporan lapangan Kebakaran besar terjadi di unit manufaktur plastik di Vijayawada
BERITA KECELAKAAN KEBAKARAN KAMIS, 10 MEI 2018 – 18:45
Charan Teja Ikuti @CharanT16
Kebakaran besar terjadi di daerah Autonagar baru Vijayawada pada Kamis pagi, setelah sebuah pabrik manufaktur plastik terbakar.
Hampir 100 pekerja di perusahaan diselamatkan karena intervensi tepat waktu dari penduduk setempat, dan sejauh ini tidak ada korban yang dilaporkan.
Perusahaan itu disebut monitor plastik Anjaneya dan dilaporkan dimiliki oleh salah satu Sudhakar.
Berbicara kepada TNM, M Sudhakar mengatakan bahwa dia menilai kerugian mesin dan properti antara Rs 4 crore dan Rs 6 crore.
Visual menunjukkan asap tebal mengepul dari daerah itu, bahkan hampir 16 mobil pemadam kebakaran dikerahkan untuk memadamkan api, dan empat mobil pemadam kebakaran berusaha mengendalikan asap.
Personil dari Departemen Tanggap Bencana dan Pemadam Kebakaran Negara Bagian Andhra Pradesh hadir di lokasi bersama dengan beberapa anggota Pasukan Tanggap Bencana Nasional (NDRF).
Saksi mata mengatakan bahwa kebakaran terjadi pada pagi hari dan menyebar dengan cepat.
“Kebakaran terjadi sekitar pukul 10:30 pagi dan saya bergegas keluar setelah kami mendengar ledakan besar ketika api menyebar ke trafo,” kata seorang pekerja setempat.
“Kami baru mulai bekerja ketika mendengar ledakan. Asap perlahan-lahan semakin tebal dan menyelimuti daerah itu,” kata Prasad, seorang mekanik.
Beberapa penduduk setempat juga mengatakan kepada media bahwa ada keterlambatan dalam mobil pemadam kebakaran mencapai tempat itu, karena saluran media yang diberitahu tentang insiden tersebut, mencapai sebelum mereka.
Penduduk setempat mengatakan bahwa situasi menjadi lebih buruk ketika beberapa drum minyak di pabrik tetangga di kawasan industri juga terbakar.
“Api semakin besar dan tidak terkendali karena drum minyak terbakar di pabrik sebelahnya,” kata seorang warga.
Air untuk mobil pemadam kebakaran disediakan oleh Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), sementara kendaraan bergiliran memadamkan api.
Komisaris Kota Vijayawada J Nivas dan Kolektor Distrik B Lakshmikantham mengawasi operasi pemadaman kebakaran.
Selain petugas polisi kota, satu batalyon Polisi Khusus Andhra Pradesh juga dikerahkan di tempat.
Polisi memblokir jalan-jalan terdekat dan memutus akses ke daerah itu, untuk memastikan bahwa operasi pemadam kebakaran berlangsung tanpa hambatan.
Apakah langkah-langkah keamanan diabaikan?
Beberapa penduduk setempat menuduh bahwa perusahaan tidak mengikuti langkah-langkah keamanan. Bahkan seperti yang diamati oleh reporter ini, terbukti bahwa perusahaan telah membuang beberapa gundukan sampah plastik di sekitar lokasi pabrik, yang dapat menyebabkan api membesar dengan cepat.
Shaik Sharif, pemilik unit manufaktur sofa tetangga mengatakan, “Mereka terus-menerus membuang sampah plastik di mana-mana, termasuk di jalan. Ada juga beberapa kaleng yang digunakan untuk mengecat plastik setelah diproduksi. Itu juga bisa menyebabkan api membesar dengan cepat.”
Sharif mengatakan bahwa dia menderita kerugian harta benda yang diperkirakan sekitar Rs 50 lakh dan menyalahkan kecerobohan unit plastik tersebut.