Ludhiana, Oct 23 — A late-night boiler explosion at the Verka milk plant on Ferozepur Road claimed one life and left five workers injured on Wednesday, police said.
The blast occurred in the boiler section of the air heater unit of the Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (MILKFED) facility, according to sub-inspector Aditya Sharma, station house officer of Sarabha Nagar.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the explosion began in the boiler. Six workers were present in the unit when it happened,” Sharma noted.
The deceased, identified as Kunal Jain, 43, suffered critical injuries and was rushed to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), where he died during treatment. Jain, a resident of Haqiqat Nagar in Haibowal, was in charge of the air heater section. He is survived by his wife—who also works at the plant on a contractual basis—and two children.
His friends said Jain had left a birthday celebration midway after receiving an urgent call from the plant to inspect the boiler. “He initially said he would check it the next morning, but when the caller insisted, he went immediately. Minutes later, we heard about the blast,” one of them recalled.
The other injured—Ajit Singh, Puneet Kumar, Kulwant Singh, Davinder Singh Lalton, and Gurtej Singh, all residents of Ludhiana—are being treated at different hospitals.
Police are examining why workers were present in the unit on Vishwakarma Day (October 22), a day when many factories remain closed. “We’re coordinating with the management and recording staff statements to determine if negligence was involved,” the SHO added.
