Vadodara: Blaze at chemical plant after blast, 8 injured

Fire fighters trying to douse the flames. (Express Photo)

The injured employees were rushed to SSG hospital , where a team of 15 doctors has been deployed to attend to the injured in the emergency ward. The condition of three injured persons are said to be critical.

As many as 17 fire tenders, including from the GSFC fire station, were rushed to the spot along with the Quick Response Centre from Jarod to bring the fire under control, which has engulfed a major part of the premises, fire officials said.

A senior police official of Vadodara city said, “We are yet to ascertain how many persons were inside the premises when the blast occurred. The fire and rescue teams will be able to ascertain the casualty only after sanitising the premises after the fire is completely doused.”

The fire continues to rage even after close to two hours of fire operation. According to officials, there are also ‘mild, intermittent sounds of explosion’ inside the plant. (Express Photo)

Parth Brahmabhatt, Chief Fire Officer, Vadodara Fire and Emergency Services (VFES) of Vadodara Municipal Corporation, said, “We have brought 80 % of fire under control. We have 17 fire tenders in the operation. It might take an entire night to clear the impact areas. We are expecting to completely douse the fire and sanitise the floors of the plant by tomorrow morning. We are not able to confirm any casualty or how the fire started at this point.”

Brahmabhatt added that the fire has been classified as a “major call” and persons in the vicinity of the factory are advised to stay at a safe distance as the factory has a “large amount of inflammable chemical”.

Vadodara District Collector AB Gor and Vadodara city Joint Commissioner of Police Chirag Karodia arrived at the spot to oversee the operations.

Nandesari is an industrial hub with major chemical factories located in a cluster.

According to fire officials, as the fire tenders began dousing the flames in the first impact area, the fire spread to the rear end, causing chaos. A large force of police has been deployed.