Maha: Toll in Boisar chemical factory blast goes up to seven

The death toll in the explosion at a chemical factory in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Saturday has gone up to seven with the recovery of one more body, an official said on Sunday.

District Guardian minister Dada Bhuse also inspected the blast site late Saturday night and later said prima facie, the factory had permission from the authorities concerned to carry out testing of machineries at the unit.

The blast took place on Saturday evening during the testing of some chemicals at the under-construction plant of Ank Pharma in Kolwade village, killing six people.

"During the debris clearing operation, one more body was found on Sunday morning. The deceased has been identified as Trinad Dasari (35)," district disaster control cell chief Vivekananda Kadam said.

One girl was still missing from the mishap site, he said, adding that search was on to trace her.

The six found dead on Saturday have been identified as Mohan Ingle (45), Sakshi Madan (39), Nishu Singh (26), Madhuri Singh (46), Gokul Jadhav (18) and Ilyas Ansari (45) (factory watchman).

Besides, the seven injured persons, including the plant owner Natwarbhai Patel, who was seriously hurt, were undergoing treatment at different hospitals, Kadam said.

Work for clearing the debris was still underway, he added.

The explosion took place during the testing of some chemicals around 7.20 pm at the plant in a Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area of Boisar, located over 100 km away from Mumbai, officials earlier said.

The blast was so huge that it was heard within a 15-km radius, and window panes of some houses in the surrounding area shattered, they said.

The under-construction plant building collapsed after the explosion and two other chemical units located in the vicinity also suffered damages, Kadam said.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was also called for rescue operations on Saturday.

District Guardian minister Dada Bhuse inspected the blast site late at night.

Later talking to reporters, he said as per preliminary reports, the plant had permission from the authorities concerned to carry out testing of machineries.

"However, the district health and safety officials will visit the site today and carry out an inspection. Based on their report, police will take further action," he said.

As of now, an accidental death report has been registered, an official at Boisar police station said.

"In view of several chemical units located in Boisar MIDC, we have to now seriously think of taking steps to prevent such incidents in future," Bhuse said.

The minister said he would hold a meeting with all stakeholders in the coming days to come up with some preventive measures.

"We would seek guidance and suggestions from experts in this field. Periodic inspections of these plants will be conducted to come out with safety measures," he told PTI.

The minister also said that he would visit the blast site on Sunday for a detailed review of the incident.

Earlier, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday announced an assistance of Rs five lakh each for the kin of the deceased.