Three people were charred to death after a massive fire broke out at a sofa factory in Greater Noida’s Beta 2 locality on Tuesday morning, officials said. Prima facie the fire broke out when they were cooking, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Gulfam, 23, a native of Mathura; Majhar Alam, 29, and Dilshad, who hailed from Bihar, the police said. The three were staying at a tin shed room in the two-storey factory.
“On Monday around 8.10am a local alerted the fire control room about a fire that broke out at a factory located at site 4, an industrial area in Beta 2. Upon getting information, five fire tenders were rushed to the spot,” said Ecotech 1 fire officer Jitendra Kumar.
“After two-and-a-half hours of continuous efforts when the fire was brought under control, we found out that three people were charred to death inside the factory,” the officer said.
Pawan Kumar, assistant commissioner of police of Greater Noida, said, “When the fire department and police were checking the factory, skeletal remains of three men were found in a tin shed room, located on the backside of a two storeyed factory on the ground floor.”
“The bodies were sent for autopsy examination. As per preliminary investigation, we suspect that the fire broke out when they were cooking. As the room is located on the backside, they did not find a way to escape and were charred to death following asphyxiation,” ACP Kumar said.
Officials said that a small part of the factory was rented out by the owner to a man for making sofas and recliners. “Gulfam, Alam, and Dilwad were employed by their distant relative to make sofas,” the police said, adding that as flammable material like foam and cloth was stored in the factory, fire engulfed swiftly.
