Fire breaks out at Odisha school kitchen, cook injured

In an unfortunate incident, a cook sustained serious burn injuries after a fire broke out on the premises of Hatibandha Primary School under Anandapur block in Keonjhar district on Thursday.

 As per reports, the incident occurred while midday meals were being prepared on a wood-fired stove, when flames from the stove accidentally caught onto the cook.

 Though the fire reportedly resulted from negligence, a major tragedy was averted as no students were present nearby at the time of the mishap. The injured cook was first rushed to the Anandapur hospital by ambulance and later shifted to Cuttack for advanced treatment.

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 "I found the cook with serious burn injuries. When I asked her about it, she said that she was burnt while feeding the wood-fired stove with wood. The children managed to douse the fire by putting water on her by the time we came running," said Hiramani Biswal, an anganwadi cook.

"The cook named Kali nani was ill today and she was not in a good condition to cook the meal today. However, she cooked. Unfortunately, she suffered burn injuries. We took her to the hospital immediately by calling 108 ambulance. She is a widow and is mother of a girl. So, we request the government to provide her some assistance," said Pramod Kumar Barik, a local resident.