Blast at Thane chemical unit kills 8, injures 60; several feared trapped

The number of casualties and injuries may go up as several workers and residents are still feared trapped in the factory, they said. The injured have been rushed to Neptune Hospital, Global Hospital and AIMS Hospital in MIDC.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Shashtri Nagar hospital, Dombivli (West) and Rukmani hospital in Kalyan.

Police were finding it difficult to identify the deceased as their faces and body parts were disfigured. Only two deceased have been identified yet — Riddhi Khanvilkar, 36 and Rohini Kadam, 26.

The explosion was heard in a radius of two kilometres and the window panes of nearby houses in the building in 500-metre radius were shattered in the impact. A smoke cloud could be seen billowing from the factory, a resident said.

A fire brigade official said that the Amudan company — owned by Malay Mehta — is into hardener (chemical) manufacturing and two-three blasts followed the main blast. The impact was such that four companies around were gutted. People working in and around Amudan were thrown off, said an KDMC rescue team officer.

A fire official from KDMC, who is aiding in the rescue operations, told The Indian Express, “Due to the presence of chemicals within the premises, there were two more explosions. According to the workers of the company, those who were inside managed to escape in the nick of time after they heard the explosion.”

“We found that metal objects were flung to a radius of 500 metres in the impact of the blast,” another KDMC official said.

Namdeo Chaudhari, Chief Fire Officer, KDMC, told The Indian Express, “The fire was reported around 1.30 pm. Since it was a chemical industry, the fire spread quickly. The KDMC has pressed nearly 12 fire engines, 16 water tankers and 50 foam drums for rescue operations.”

In a message on X, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Unfortunately, six lives were lost in Dombivali incident and 48 were injured. My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. The injured are being treated at AIMS, Neptune & Global hospitals… all assistance is being provided. Praying for their speedy recovery. Various teams & administrative officials are at the spot for rescue operations.”

Teams of NDRF, TDRF and fire brigade were deployed for rescue work. The cause of the explosion is still not known and officials said they would look into it after the rescue operation is over.

In 2016, a similar explosion took place at a company in Dombivli MIDC, in which 12 people were killed.

As per the preliminary information, those killed were working in neighbouring factories, Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant said. The state Industries and Labour Department issued a statement saying the boiler in the factory was not registered under the India Boiler Regulations, 1950.

Terming the incident as “horrible”, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said some more people are feared trapped in the factories around the chemical factory. “Our priority is to rescue those people. Eight persons have lost their lives and more than 60 were injured,” he said from the factory site.

The government has taken a serious note of the incident and has decided to categorise the industries as A, B and C in terms of the hazards they pose.

“All most-hazardous industrial units falling under the red category will be immediately shut across the state. Such units will be given an option to shift to another location or change the usage (category) like engineering and IT…There will be no compromise on the lives of people,” Shinde said.

The CM also announced Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of those killed in the blast and said the expenses of those injured will be borne by the government.

The state industries department said the reasons behind the blast will be revealed only after a detailed inquiry in this matter.

Samant, local MP Shrikant Shinde and MLA Raju Patil visited the site inside the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area, some 40 km from Mumbai.

CM Shinde said, “Those who are found to be faulty will face action and no one would be spared. I have instructed the authorities to register a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in connection with the incident.” He later visited the hospital in Dombivli and enquired about the health of the injured persons who are undergoing treatment there.

(with PTI)