Pali Factory Fire, Rajasthan: Two Workers Reported Dead, Three Critically Burnt at Guar Gum Unit; Cause Under Investigation

What happened

A fire broke out late on Sunday night, 18 October 2026, at the Sarda Bio Polymers guar gum factory in the Fourth Phase of the industrial area in Pali, Rajasthan. Seventeen workers were on the night shift. Three were badly burnt, and two others were trapped inside the building. The fire was brought under control at about 4 am on Monday, 19 October, after roughly four and a half hours of firefighting.

The start time is reported a little differently: ETV Bharat and Tarun Mitra said about 11.30 pm, while Times Now Navbharat and other outlets said about 11 pm. NDTV Rajasthan and Times Now Navbharat describe the factory as a three-storey unit that processes guar gum, a plant-based thickener used in food and industry. Rajasthan Patrika called it a four-storey building and said the flames spread through it within minutes.

On the cause, Pali SDM Vimalendra Singh Ranawat suspected a short circuit in a lift, ETV Bharat reported, and Amar Ujala carried the same preliminary information, adding that the lift was in the part of the building where the night shift was working. Rajasthan Patrika quoted the police as saying a short circuit on the first floor was the cause. Dainik Bhaskar, as summarised by Indian Opinion, also mentioned talk of a boiler burst. IANS said the cause was not yet known. None of this has been confirmed by an inquiry.

The people

According to Amar Ujala and Tarun Mitra, 12 of the 17 workers got out through the main gate. Three came out with their clothes on fire, ran to the road and collapsed. They had burns of about 70 per cent, the reports said. They are a 19-year-old, a man reported as 28 by Amar Ujala and as 30 by ETV Bharat, and a 40-year-old. After first aid at Bangar Hospital in Pali, they were referred to Jodhpur in a critical condition.

Two workers could not be found. Their phones rang but nobody answered, IANS reported. Rescuers searched the debris through the day. NDTV Rajasthan and NewsX reported that one burnt body was recovered after about 14 hours. Rajasthan Patrika reported on the evening of 19 October that both bodies had been found on Monday afternoon and that the two men were from Gaya district in Bihar, aged 22 and 25, who had come to Pali for work. The paper said the bodies were in the Bangar Hospital mortuary and that DNA tests would confirm their identity once relatives reach Pali. We have not named the workers on this page. Reports from the morning of 19 October, including Amar Ujala, ETV Bharat and IANS, still described the two as missing, so the figure of two dead first rested on Rajasthan Patrika and the later video reports. Dainik Navajyoti has since also reported that two bodies were recovered from the debris and that one of them could not be identified because of the burns. It said the bodies came out on Monday morning, where Patrika said afternoon, and it named no official. Two regional papers now report two deaths. We still found no official statement or police release, so we continue to say the two are reported dead.

Two Pali residents, Ravi and Mahendra, did not wait for an ambulance and took the injured to hospital in their own car, Amar Ujala and ETV Bharat reported. Other bystanders, including Gopal Panwar, helped load the workers into vehicles and informed the fire brigade.

Response and investigation

The Pali fire brigade was joined by tenders from Sojat, Rani, Falna and Sumerpur. Times Now Navbharat also listed Bali and the RIICO fire service. Amar Ujala and ETV Bharat said eight tenders made about 55 trips between them. The entrance was narrow and the smoke thick, so firefighters had a wall broken open with a JCB to get inside and search for the missing workers. Large gas cylinders stored on the premises did not catch fire, which the papers said prevented a bigger accident. The papers also reported that a tractor-trolley parked in the compound was burnt. Dainik Navajyoti added that rescuers used JCBs and cranes and broke down a wall about 12 feet high and 120 feet long, that the factory had a firefighting system which was not used effectively, and that a pipe broke during the demolition. It did not say who told it this, so treat it as unconfirmed.

Pali SDM Vimalendra Singh Ranawat, CO City Mangalesh Chundawat and the Industrial Area police station staff reached the spot and reviewed the rescue. NDTV Rajasthan said police and a forensic team were present and that firefighters worked carefully because of the weak state of the burnt building.

Last checked: 20 October 2026, evening (India time). We found no report of an FIR, an arrest, a fire NOC or factory licence check, a labour department inquiry, compensation for the families, or an estimate of the loss. ETV Bharat noted that questions are being raised about safety arrangements in the industrial area and about the firefighting arrangements inside the factory. The reports we read do not attribute that to any official.

Why this matters

Guar gum is a fine powder made from the guar bean. Plants that grind, dry, store and bag fine organic powders carry a lot of burnable material, and dust that settles on beams, ducts and lift shafts can feed a small fire. Officials have not said that dust played any part here, so this is general background and not a finding about this unit. What the reports do say is that a fire starting at night, on an upper floor, spread through a multi-storey building quickly enough to catch five workers. For the general warning signs, see our guide to factory fires and boiler explosions.

If the short circuit reports are borne out, the case is a reminder of how an ordinary electrical fault, in a lift or a panel, can turn into a major fire when the building is full of combustible stock. Our explainer on small electrical faults that cause big fires covers the basics. Rajasthan saw another factory fire only weeks ago, the Jodhpur Basni factory fire, where firefighters were among the dead, and a recent foam factory fire in Sonipat killed two.

Rajasthan reported 25 deaths and 142 non-fatal injuries in registered factories in 2023, with no dangerous occurrences recorded, according to the DGFASLI Standard Reference Note 2024. That is a state-wide count of registered factories only and says nothing about this unit.

Lessons for processing units and their workers

• Keep dust off beams, ducts and lift shafts. In a plant handling guar gum or any fine powder, a written housekeeping routine with a daily cleaning schedule matters as much as the extinguisher.
• Have the electrics checked on a schedule. Lifts, panels and cables in a dusty, stock-heavy building need regular thermography or at least an electrician’s inspection, with the report on file.
• Give night-shift workers two real ways out. A narrow entrance that held up the fire brigade will also slow workers. Keep exits on each floor clear, marked and separate from the lift.
• Install detection and a fire alarm that reaches the whole building. Smoke detectors and sprinklers on the floors that store stock buy minutes that rescue teams rarely have.
• Do a roll-call at the assembly point. Here, officials and relatives were left phoning two workers whose phones rang unanswered. A shift register and a headcount outside the gate tell rescuers quickly who is still inside.
• Keep gas cylinders away from the production area. The reports say the cylinders on site did not catch fire. Store them outside, in a caged and ventilated spot.
• Know your water supply. A factory fire swallows thousands of litres. Hydrants, a stored tank and a pump that works make a difference before the tenders arrive. Check that your fire NOC is valid and that the arrangements on site match what was approved.

If there is a factory fire where you work

• Raise the alarm, leave by the nearest exit and do not use the lift.
• Stay low if there is smoke, and shut doors behind you where you can.
• If your clothes catch fire, stop, drop and roll. Do not run.
• Cool the burn under cool, clean running water for 20 minutes. No ice, toothpaste, oil or butter.
• Call 112, the fire brigade on 101 or an ambulance on 108. Tell them how many people are still inside and which floor they were working on.
• Never go back in for a colleague or belongings. Tell the firefighters where the person was last seen.

What is still not known

The cause has not been officially established. It is not clear where on the lift or the first floor the fault was, what was stored on each floor, how much stock was lost or whether the fire alarm, sprinklers and exits were working. We also do not yet know the status of the factory’s fire NOC and licences, whether an FIR has been filed, the condition of the three injured in Jodhpur, or the final identification of the two dead. We will update this page when the police, the fire department or the factories inspectorate publish findings.