The death toll raised to two and at least four others were injured in a reactor blast in a chemical factory in Boisar town of Palghar on Monday evening, the police said.
The incident occurred at around 7.30 pm in Nandolia Organic Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (NOCPL) when certain chemicals were being mixed in the reactor. At the time of the blast, 20 workers were inside the manufacturing unit.
Top officials including tehsildar Sunil Shinde, Palghar Maharashtra Pollution Control Board officer Manish Holkar and others rushing to the spot as the deafening blast was audible for several kms in the vicinity of the factory in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) complex.
Increase in water pressure in the reactor resulted in explosion
The operator at the plant, Sandeep Kumar Singh, told the police that an increase in water pressure in the reactor resulted in the explosion.
The police, fire brigade and other agencies are investigating the detailed causes of the NOCPL plant blast which shook many homes in the vicinity, according to local eyewitnesses.
According to The Indian Express, the Palghar Collector Kailash Shinde said, "They were producing active pharmaceutical ingredients during which there was an explosion...An inquiry has been launched to ascertain the cause of the explosion."
This is the second blast in the MIDC area this year. "The chemicals that the company deals in are highly hazardous. There had been accidents in the past in the unit," an official from Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health said.
One worker Sandeep Kushwaha was declared dead while the injured Mohammed M. Altaf, 30, Dilip Gupta, 28, Umesh Kushwaha, 22, Pramodkumar Mishra, 35 have been admitted to Tunga Hospital in nearby Boisar.
