A trade union in Bahrain has condemned the death of an Indian man in a fire at a workshop in the Sitrah region of the Gulf nation.
Following the death of Jijo Varghese Cherian Oct 21 in a fire that broke out at the Al Namal Contracting and Trading Company in Nuwaidrat, where he was working, the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) Wednesday expressed concern at the working conditions of the workshops across the country, the Gulf Daily News reported.
Labour ministry officials during their visit to the site reportedly found lapses in the company’s safety norms.
Cherian reportedly got trapped inside the pit of the workshop along with two of his colleagues – Aby Mathew and Thomas Parackal George – when the fire broke out.
His two colleagues managed to escape and tried to pull out Cherian but were beaten back by the flames and smoke.
Cherian, 21, suffered severe burns and succumbed to his injuries at Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama.
“The GFBTU has repeatedly warned of these kind of tragedies, especially in high-risk workplaces such as workshops, garages and factories,” GFBTU assistant secretary-general Mohammed Mahdi was quoted as saying.
“To undertake our ethical and human roles, we in the GFBTU will hide no effort to monitor, analyse and report such cases aiming to reduce more victims at work environments,” he said.
Cherian’s body was repatriated to the south Indian state of Kerala Wednesday.