Blast in Valsad chemical unit kills three

SURAT: Three persons died and one went missing in a blast that rocked an industrial unit in Sarigam GIDC in Valsad district on Monday night. The blast was so powerful that a portion of the plant of Ven Petrochem & Pharma (India) Pvt Ltd came crashing down. Two employees also suffered injuries.
The blast, followed by fire, created panic in the area since the plant is surrounded by chemical units.
Three bodies were found and two of them were identified. Family members identified Subhash Sarvaiya (45), general manager of the plant, and Pratap Vagdoliya (32), a security person. One body was yet to be identified.
Two employees of the company, Kirti Patel (58) and Vikesh Dhodi (28), were yet to be traced. "The unidentified body could be that of any of these two persons," said a police officer, adding that the other missing person could have been buried under debris.
Two employees - Monti Patel and Pradip Yadav - suffered injuries.
According to police, the security personnel first complained of smell due to leakage after which senior officials rushed to examine the spot. "They called the technical team and were in the plant when the blast occurred," said police.
Fire fighting teams from Sarigam GIDC, Daman and Vapi GIDC rushed to the site to control the fire. They prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining units.
Teams of 108 ambulance service shifted the injured to hospital.
"The company has assured Rs 10 lakh compensation to the kin of each deceased. Investigation into the incident will be conducted by the authorised departments," said Valsad district collector Kshipra Agre.