AHMEDABAD: Twelve workers were killed and nine injured in multiple explosions at a chemical processing unit in Ganeshnagar on the Piplaj-Pirana road on Wednesday morning.
People living within 5km of the incident reportedly heard the blasts which sounded like powerful bombs.
While there was no human life lost at the unit in question, 12 persons working at a garments packaging unit in the neighbouring Nanubhai Estate, which shares a wall with the unit in question, were killed by the blast. The dead included five women workers.
Eyewitnesses said that many workers were flung out of the industrial unit due to the shockwave while the rest were buried under debris which brought down concrete units.
Officials of the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES), city police and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) reportedly did not have a clue to the composition of the chemical which caused the deadly explosion.
Locals said they heard six blasts from the small chemicals unit, which measures 25x50 feet. Cement and concrete structures were blown to smithereens in a 50m diameter. Human organs and limbs of victims were spotted 25 feet away from the site of the blasts.
“We heard a loud explosion and felt tremors due to the blast. Smoke billowed into the sky even as the screams of people rented the air. On reaching the spot, we saw people dead and badly wounded,” said Nizamuddin Mansuri, a resident of Ganeshnagar.
The state government swung into action after loss of human lives was reported and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the victims’ families. The government also set up an inquiry committee to investigate the incident.
“The incident took place at around 11.30am on Wednesday. The blast was so powerful that it broke walls of three adjacent units where some 50 workers were packaging garments. Twelve people died and nine persons have been rescued,” said M F Dastoor, AFES chief fire officer.
The operation to clear debris was on till late on Wednesday night. The injured persons were admitted to LG Hospital in Maninagar where two are stated to be critical.
The incident, however, left local businessmen worried. Vinod Chopra, who runs a garment packaging unit and Amit Shah, the owner of a chemical processing unit, expressed shock that such dangerous chemicals were stored in the unit.
“Such actions put businesses in the neighbourhood in jeopardy too. The authorities should carry out an in-depth inquiry to ensure lives are not endangered further,” said Shah.