Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Government of Goa’s Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers has ordered an immediate suspension of operations at a shipbuilding unit in Rassaim, Loutolim, following a fatal accident that claimed two lives and left five workers injured. The incident took place on October 17 at around 5:30 pm when employees were engaged in welding and cleaning activities aboard an under-construction 80-metre landing craft vessel. A sudden flash fire erupted in the Fore Castle compartment of the vessel, fatally injuring two workers, identified as Shri Shera Ali and Shri Shambu Kumar, and leaving five others—Shri Manish Chauhan, Shri Abhishek Kumar, Shri Surendra Kumar, Shri Mohammed Babia and Shri Santosh Kumar—injured.
Factory Inspector Pandurang D. Malik carried out an inspection on the same evening, followed by Chief Inspector Anant S. Pangam the next morning. The department confirmed that the workers had been performing hot work, including electric arc welding and gas cutting, when the fire occurred. The authorities have launched a detailed investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident.
Citing the severity of the incident, Chief Inspector Pangam invoked Rule 18A of the Goa Factories Rules, 1985, and issued an order prohibiting all operations on the affected vessel as well as all confined space work within the factory premises until further notice. The factory management has been directed to conduct a root cause analysis of the incident through a recognised Occupational Safety and Health auditor, review the Hazard Identification and Risk Analysis (HIRA) for all activities, and prepare or update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for both routine and non-routine operations. The Inspectorate has also instructed the management to submit an action taken report within seven days.
The Maina Curtorim Police Station has been directed to ensure enforcement of the suspension order. Authorities have emphasised that these measures are necessary to prevent the recurrence of such accidents and to ensure that all factory operations are carried out in a safe and risk-free manner.
