Six die in sugar mill mishap

At least six workers died at a private sugar mill in Gopalganj district when a machine used to condense sugarcane juice spilled the boiling liquid over them on Wednesday night.

Six other workers were also injured, three of them with 30 to 50 per cent burn injuries. Two have been referred to Gorakhpur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh for treatment, and one has been sent to Siwan Sadar Hospital.

The deaths sparked violent protests at the Gopalganj district headquarters, around 147 km northwest of Patna, with residents attacking the home of Mohammad Ali, owner of the Sasamusa sugar mill. The town remained tense.

The mishap occurred in the sugarcane juice processing area of the mill, when juice was being condensed in an equipment called semi-kestner. It is cylindrical on top and conical at the bottom. The conical part, which was welded, collapsed and spilled the juice boiling at 150° to 160° Celsius over the mill workers," Siddharth said.

The incident occurred around 11.30 pm on Wednesday when around 40 workers were on duty. "We heard a loud sound around 11.35pm," said A.K. Kushwaha, relative of one of the deceased.

Kushwaha said the mill's employees had detected a technical a week ago and informed the authorities concerned, and blamed the deaths on the mill owner's inaction.

Gopalganj in-charge district magistrate Dayanath Mishra said the government's cheques were given to the relatives of the deceased. The mill owner, who the cops have detained with his two sons, has promised Rs 10 lakh to the family of each of the deceased. The deceased are: Kripa Yadav, Vikrama Yadav, Kanhaiya Yadav, Arjun Kumar Kushwaha, Vidya Sah, all residents Gopalganj district, and Shamsuddin Mian from UP.