Agra, Uttar Pradesh, May 24, 2002: 42 people were burnt alive, and 10 sustained burn injuries in a fire at a shoe factory in the Jeoni Mandi in Agra. Rescuers, including Army and Air Force personnel, retrieved the charred bodies from the two-storey building that collapsed following the fire. Over 100 workers were at the premises when the fire broke out. A fact-finding team of the National Campaign on Labour indicted the owner of the factory, saying that he had ignored safety norms and violated labour laws.
The factory area was like a “tinder box” with hardly any fire or other safety equipment in place, it said.