Overview
- Investigators from the Industrial Health and Safety Department cited maintenance during operation, an open slide gate, missing work permits, inadequate PPE, and poor training and supervision as key lapses.
- Authorities invoked Section 40(2) of the Factories Act to prohibit all operations and maintenance at Kiln No. 1 until certified compliance, with workers to be paid during the shutdown.
- Officials said a blast in the dust-settling chamber around 9:40 am unleashed ash at roughly 850–900°C, leaving six workers dead on the spot and five badly burned.
- Most victims were migrant labourers from Bihar and Jharkhand; the injured were moved to CIMS Bilaspur, with one later referred to Raipur for further treatment.
- The company announced Rs 20 lakh for each deceased worker’s family and Rs 5 lakh for each injured worker, with statutory EC and ESIC benefits expected to bring total support to about Rs 45 lakh per bereaved family, while some reports earlier put the toll at seven.