LAHORE: Two workers died and one was injured when the roof of an electronics factory collapsed after a boiler explosion at Jia Bagga, Raiwind Road, on Sunday.

According to Edhi Foundation, the workers were busy in routine work when the boiler exploded apparently due to gas leak. The roof of the factory collapsed with the explosion and several workers were trapped under the debris.

Rescue 1122 staff pulled out the workers and shifted them to hospital where two of them, Naveed Raza of Peshawar and Naveed Kashif of Kharian, were declared dead. The injured worker, who could not be identified, was stated to be in stable condition.

The rescue officials said they had faced hurdles in reaching the factory as most of the roads were blocked due to security measures for the Tableeghi Ijtima at Raiwind and it took them time to reach the spot.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif sought a report in next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, an unidentified labourer was killed when an under-construction basement of a plaza collapsed near the railway station. The roof of the basement caved in reportedly under the weight of the building material placed on it. Rescue department reached the spot and pulled out the injured labourer and shifted him to nearby hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

Earlier, three labourers were burnt to death in a fire in a garment factory at Goal Bagh, Ravi Road, four days ago. In September, three labourers died when a boiler had exploded in a manufacturing unit of a bakery in Kahna.

In June, one worker was burnt in a steel factory in Baghbanpura while 45 workers had died when a three-storey factory collapsed in the Sundar Industrial Estate last year.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2016