Berhampur: A 56-year-old man died and three others were injured in a blast at an ice-cream making unit at Talapatna village under Dharakote police station limits in Ganjam district on Monday.The deceased, Bideshi Pradhan of Kushapalli under Jagannath Prasad police station limits, was working in the unit. The injured — the unit’s owner, his wife and son — were admitted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital, where their condition is stable, police said.A case has been registered based on a complaint by the deceased’s son, Muna Pradhan. “After the post-mortem at MKCG, the body was handed over to the family,” Chandrika Swain, inspector-in-charge of Dharakote police station, said.The exact cause of the blast is under investigation, police said. The explosion was powerful enough to blow off the building’s tin sheet roof. Police are verifying if the unit had the required licence and complied with norms.Police said the small ice-cream unit, set up by Ramesh Chandra Mohapatra in the entrance room of his house a few months ago, had stopped production due to a compressor defect. Bideshi was attempting to repair it when it exploded. The family members present in the room also suffered injuries.Local residents rushed the injured to the Dharakote community health centre before they were shifted to MKCG. Bideshi succumbed to his injuries on the way to Berhampur.
