The three injured -- Sanjay Mahadeo Ladkat (26), Laxman Raghunath Landge (27) and Vishwanath Dattatray Unde (36) -- have been admitted to a private hospital on Paud Road.

Ladkat and Landge are labourers working with the Breaktask Products Ltd factory located at the Paramveer Industrial Estate at Pirangut while Unde works as a supervisor there.

According to the Fire Brigade officials, the work of mixing and heating various chemicals for use was on at the factory when the fire broke out around 12 noon. The blaze is suspected to have started after the chemicals caught fire due to high temperature, they added.

Atleast seven labourers and a supervisor were working at the factory when the fire started. The entire factory soon turned into an inferno as the chemicals caught fire quickly, the Fire Brigade officials said.

While some of the labourers succeeded in running away and escaping unharmed, the clothes worn by Ladkat, Landge and Unde caught fire. They were rescued by other colleagues, according to the Fire Brigade officials.

On a tip off, Pune Municipal Corporation's Central Fire Brigade rushed a fire tender and an ambulance to the spot. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's fire fighting unit also sent a fire tender.

A team of over 15 firemen succeeded in bringing the fire under control after a two-and-a-half hour long operation. However, the fire could not be put off completely for another hour.