Worker killed,7 hurt in blast at GIDC factory

“Thirty-five workers had just evacuated the premises after finishing work when the first explosion occurred. Gohil ran towards the boiler trying to switch off the valve and died in the second explosion. Some of our workers sustained injuries when glass flew in all directions from the boiler. The fire spread to the other parts quickly,” said Joshi.

Four of the injured were from the neighbouring shed,who were asleep at the time of the explosion.

The injured workers have been admitted to the Shreeji Hospital near Chhani Jakatnaka in Vadodara.

Vadodara Municipal Corporation officials said seven fire tenders were rushed from Vadodara to douse the blaze. “A 25-member squad was formed to tackle the fire. The presence of hazardous chemicals in the factory premises kept the blaze alive for four to five hours,” said H J Taparia,Chief Fire Officer,VMC.

Vadodara Collector Vijay Nehra said the Joint Director of Department of Industrial Safety and Health and Vadodara police will investigate the accident. “We are not directly conducting any inquiry,but the joint director of industrial safety and health will submit the report to the Collector’s office after investigating the cause of the blast. The Vadodara police will investigate the incident that led to the death of one worker,” said Nehra.

According to the various government agencies,this was the fourth such accident at a chemical unit in Nandesari GIDC.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Rakesh Sharma said: “We have started the preliminary investigation on the cause of the fire,including the shift timings of the workers and the safety norms followed by the owners of the factory.”

Kantibhai Gohil,brother of the deceased worker said workers in the unit dealt with hazardous chemicals like hydrogen peroxide without basic safety requirements. The company uses hazardous chemicals like hydrogen peroxide,DMS,acetic acid,caustic soda,Hydrochloric Acid,Sodium Bicarbonate and has 200 metric tonnes of production capacity for aromatic substances.

The factory inspectors have now issued a prohibitory order against K Dac Chemicals from setting up the plant again.

“We have issued the prohibitory orders against the company that before they set up the plant anywhere,they must file a safety report. To further ascertain the cause of the fire,our team will examine the site on Wednesday,” said P M Shah,Factory Inspector,Department of Industrial Safety and Health.

Nandesari Industries Association President,Babubhai Patel said the association should be empowered to keep strict vigil on the plants for safety regulations.

“We always tell our member industries to follow the safety precautions while operating with hazardous chemicals. But we cannot stop anyone from manufacturing,as we do not have the authority to do anything,” said Patel.