A worker who became engulfed in flames during a toxic Melbourne factory fire says he remains in shock and cannot sleep fire campbellfield
After starting his 6am shift, Vignesh Varatharaja filled a chemical drum with solvent when it exploded in his face at the Campbellfield factory on April 5.
"I just turned right and the drum hit my shoulder and face heavily and my body caught fire and my clothes started burning," Mr Varatharaja said in a statement. "I am still in shock." The massive fire broke out at Bradbury Industrial Services, a factory that had been storing hundreds of thousands of litres of chemical waste.Arson squad investigators are set to examine the circumstances surrounding the industrial blaze, after firefighters were finally able to completelyThe site has now been handed over to WorkSafe, police and fire investigators from the MFB.
The factory's licence was suspended on March 20 by the state's environmental watchdog after an inspection found liquid waste exceeded the amount permitted under its licence.operator of the warehouse is also linked to four other warehouses stockpiled with toxic chemical wasteMr Varatharaja, a Sri Lankan national who arrived in Australia on a bridging visa in 2013, suffered serious burns in the fire. He emerged from an induced coma last Saturday, and had been moved into intensive care.
Australian Workers' Union secretary Ben Davis said a co-worker unsuccessfully tried to use a faulty nearby fire hose to extinguish the flames on Mr Varatharaja's body.", which had raised more than $23,000 towards Mr Varatharaja's medical costs by 1pm Friday.
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