The excavator at the spot on Monday. (Express photo by Deepak Joshi)

A dumper accidentally overturned a drum of chemical, kept underground, while excavating on the Taloja MIDC grounds on Monday. At least one person has suffered several injuries in the ensuing blast, the impact of which was felt even in the villages at Kalyan, police said.

According to Taloja police, they received the information around 08.30 am. “The Mumbai waste management group runs a waste disposal plant for the industries at Taloja MIDC. It deals with chemical waste by burying it in a wasteland,” informed an officer from Taloja.

On Monday, one of the workers found vapours coming out of a drum of chemical waste kept in the shed, police said. “The incident happened when the excavator was trying to dig around another drum, which was buried earlier, to make a pit for the new waste. However, since the explosion was under the surface, it only affected the excavator,” said the officer.

The driver of the machine, identified as Santosh Patil (42), has suffered various injuries on his face and limbs, including third-degree burns on his chest face and stomach, police said. “He has been admitted to a private hospital and his condition is now stable,” said the supervisor, Vidyakant Mishra, who also suffered some minor injuries.

The explosion took place around 08.15 am and the impact was felt and heard in over 14 villages nearby. Even the areas like Kalyan and Dombivali, which are connected to Taloja, felt the effects of the explosion. “The entire building’s windows shook for a minute or two before we heard the explosion. It was scary,” said Kanchan Yadav, resident of Taloja village. “I heard and felt the ground rumble while I was going to get milk in the morning,” Ashish Pariskar, a resident of Dombivali said.

The local MPCB unit along with the bomb squad and other agencies had immediately rushed to the spot, after fire brigade and local police reached there.

“Prima facie it seems that the excavator ruptured the drum while digging. We have taken samples of the chemicals kept in drums to check their components,” said an MPCB officer.

Taloja police has said they are inquiring about the matter and an FIR might be lodged.

The residents of villages around the MIDC land in Taloja assembled near the gate of the company’s compound after the incident. “Our doors and windows have damaged because of the accident. Who will take responsible for that,” asked Rani Kamnikar a nearby resident.

“They have been polluting the area. Why do we have to bear the consequences of dealing with dangerous waste,” asked Baban Gavan, another resident of the village.

“We will assess the damage done to their houses later,” said a police officer from Taloja.