Three factory employees were injured in an explosion at a factory in the Meepe area of Padukka on Friday (30), police said. All three were admitted to the Homagama Base Hospital for treatment.
The injured are two male workers and a female employee, according to the Daily Mirror. Hiru News placed the factory on the Meepe–Ingiriya road.
Police said the explosion happened while workers were cutting and modifying a fuel storage tank with a gas torch without first removing the fuel left inside it. The tank had reportedly been bought at an auction for use at the factory to store lubricants.
The blast also caused extensive damage to a house nearby. A roof tile is reported to have fallen on the female worker’s head during the explosion.
The two newsrooms describe the container differently. The Daily Mirror reports a fuel storage tank cut open with a gas torch; Hiru News reports a diesel barrel that exploded as it was being welded. Both accounts describe the same hazard — hot work carried out on a fuel container that had not been emptied of its contents or vapour first.
Footage published by Hiru News showed a corrugated-metal workshop with wall sheeting blown outward and roofing displaced, and metal fabrication frames scattered across the floor.
Padukka Police are conducting further investigations.
Not reported: Neither filing gives the names or ages of the injured, their condition in hospital, what the factory produces, or whether the workplace held the safety approvals required for hot work on fuel containers. No arrests or charges have been reported. Ada Derana remains unreachable, and NewsFirst had not filed on the incident at the time of writing.
