Gujarat: 5 dead, 32 injured as explosion rocks Dahej pesticide company in Bharuch district

BHARUCH/SURAT: At least five people were killed and 32 suffered burn injuries in a massive explosion that rocked a pesticide company located in the Dahej special economic zone (SEZ) in the Bharuch district of Gujarat on Wednesday.
While the exact reason for the explosion was not immediately known, officials said that there was a fire in the storage area of the company - Yashasvi Rasayan Pvt Ltd - at around 12 noon
The injured are under treatment at various hospitals in Bharuch. A video of a man covered in black soot and burn wounds desperately seeking medical help also went viral on social media. Someone in the video is pleading with people to rush the man to the hospital immediately, else he would die.
Nearly 15 fire tenders have been pressed into action to douse the flames which started subsidizing by 4pm.
The blast was so massive that it was heard in a 20 km area and some villages of Bhavnagar district too. Dahej and Bhavnagar lie on either side of Gulf of Cambay. Thick plumes of smoke were visible up to Bhavnagar too, while units in the vicinity of 2 km of Yashasvi Chemicals were also impacted. Sources said window panes of some Petronet LNG office nearby were shattered by the blast.

As a precautionary measure, the district administration evacuated people from Luwara and Lakhigam villages near the company as well as from Adani Port and Petronet LNG.

"Due to fire, the tanks storing hydrogen, sulphur dioxide, xylene and ethanol are at risk," said senior GPBC officials.
When contacted, AV Shah, member secretary, GPCB, told TOI: "The emission of volatile organic carbon was much above threshold levels but it is under control now. "
As the humidity in the atmosphere is high due to Cyclone Nisaraga impact, chances of sulphur dioxide emission causing any damage is very less.
Shah said there was no threat to people but they were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
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