Goa: Blast at Zuari Agro claims 3 lives, government launches probe

VASCO: In an unfortunate incident, three workers were killed at Zuari Agro Chemicals's fertilizer manufacturing plant when a blast occurred at the condensate tank on Tuesday.
The directorate of factories and boilers and Goa Police have launched an investigation to identify the cause of the explosion and to see if the company and the contractor failed to adhere to safety norms.
The victims have been identified as Inderjeet Ghosh, Mrutyunjan Chaudhari and Jashkaran Singh.
"The plant was due for annual maintenance shutdown and a contractor had been hired to work on the condensate tank. The contractor was working with due permissions," said Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited PRO Anand Rajadhyaksha.
Officials from the deputy collector's office, factories and boilers inspectors, Goa Police and other agencies immediately rushed to the site after they heard about the blast, which occurred at 2.45pm. The workers were using a gas cutter to open up the condensate tank, but this led to the blast.
"It is very unfortunate to hear about the tragic death of three labourers in a blast of the under maintenance ammonia tank at the Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd plant at Vasco. The state machinery has immediately responded and are making every effort to bring normalcy to the situation. I urge the locals not to panic and not to believe any rumours. There is no gas leakage and matter is being monitored by the government," said chief minister Pramod Sawant in a tweet.
As per the available information, the deceased were workers of a contractor engaged by an external private company.
Minister for factories and boilers Nilkant Halarnkar said that strict action will be taken against the company if lapses were found. "Our team has gone to the site. I have asked them to complete the inquiry as quickly as possible. We will take appropriate action as per the report. Every life is precious," said Halarnkar.