3 killed, 14 injured in Maha chemical factory blasts

At least three persons were killed and 14 others injured in a massive fire triggered by a chain of blasts at a chemical factory at Tarapur’s industrial area in the neighbouring Palghar district, 110 km from here, late on Thursday.

The fire, which originated at Novaphene Specialties Private Limited (E-107 unit) of Tarapur MIDC at 11.45 pm, spread to five other nearby factories -Prachi Industries, Bharat Rasayan, Arti Industries, Unimax and  Darbar.

Local residents said that they heard “30 to 40” explosions and they came out of their houses in panic, apprehending that there might have been an earthquake.

Before long, red and yellow fireballs emanating from the affected factories brightened the skies in the area. More than 25 fire tenders from Vasai-Virar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Palghar, Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS), Reliance Power, Dahanu, Thane and Palghar rushed to the scene to douse the raging blaze.

The fire fighters managed to bring the blaze under control at 8 am on Friday.

The police identified the three persons killed in the mishap as Pintu Kumar Gautam, Janu Adaria and Alok Nath, all employees of Arti Industries, a drug firm which was among the six factories affected by the fire.

 “We are investigating the cause of fire. We are trying  to ascertain if the the affected industrial units had followed safety norms. All those held guilty will be charged under relevant sections of the IPC and we may recommend the government to cancel the manufacturing licence of the guilty units,”?Palghar District Collector Prashant Narnaware said.

Meanwhile, the Vasai-based Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) is looking into the cause of the fire. It will submit a report to the Boisar MIDC police, who have registered a case of accident. Panchanamas are being done.

Significantly enough, there are at least four nuclear power plants are located in the Tarapur-Boisar area.