At least six people were killed in an explosion in a boiler at a sugar factory in Bagalkot district of Karnataka on Sunday.
The blast occurred in a unit of Nirani Sugar Factory Limited that is situated in Kulalli village of Mudhol.
"Six people have died on the spot due to the blast in the boiler of the sugar factory in Kulali village," a police control room official told IANS from Mudhol, about 550 km northwest of Bengaluru.
According to a report by The New Indian Express, at least ten people were working in the factory when the blast occurred.
Three-story building of the factory also collapsed following the powerful blast.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy directed district officials to shift the injured to hospitals immediately and asked for the site to be inspected to ascertain the cause of the explosion.
"The death of the six people in the blast in the sugar factory is saddening. Bagalkot district officials have been directed to conduct a probe and submit a report. The State government will provide compensation to the deceased's kin," a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.
The sugar factory is run by the Nirani Group -- owned by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker from the state, Murugesh Nirani, and his brothers.
(With Agency Inputs)
