Hima cement factory fire kills three, injures 8

Smoke billows from the Hima Cement Factory plant in Kasese District on January 15, 2022. PHOTO/COURTESY 

What you need to know:

  • According to Hima Cement factory, at least three of it's workers had been confirmed dead by Saturday evening.  

Operations at Hima Cement Factory in Kasese District in western Uganda have been suspended following Saturday afternoon fire that broke out at the premises and left three staff members dead.
Eight others were rushed to hospital in critical condition.

“Our operations at the Hima Plant have been stopped as we take stock of this incident and to ensure that the fire is fully contained. The health and safety of our employees and all stakeholders remains our number one priority,” the factory’s chief executive officer, Mr Jean-Michel Pons said in a statement. 
He said preliminary investigations indicated that a team of staff were doing installation works at a light diesel oil tank inside the factory before the fire broke out.  

“What we know so far is that a team staff was doing installation works at the light diesel oil tank when the incident happened. Our team is working with the authorities to further investigate the incident and to ascertain the course of events,” Mr Pons added.
He said they were able to contain the fire with the help of police fire brigade and UPDF sodiers.
Those who sustained injuries were taken to Kilembe Hospital in Kasese District.

Eye witness account
One of the workers who was inside the factory by the time of the incident told Monitor on conditions of anonymity that the fire sparked from the fuel tanks within the factory.
He said some of the factory workers were doing fabrication works near the fuel tank before the fire broke out.
“We heard a loud explosion that was followed by a thick smoke from inside. We scampered for our lives as fire alarms went off,” he said.