1 killed, 2 others injured in explosion at JNPT

In an explosion on Monday evening at JNPT port, one person was killed and two others were injured; the fire was reported from a barge where spray painting work was in progress; the injured have been admitted in hospital for treatment

In a blast reported on Monday evening at JNPT port, one person was killed and two others were injured. The fire was reported from a barge where spray painting work was in progress.

One person was killed and two others were injured in an explosion while carrying out spray painting work at JNPT on Monday evening. (HT FILE PHOTO)

“The extension of landing point work was going on at the JNPT, which was outsourced to a private firm. In the barge where the work was going on, a worker was doing spray painting inside it. A barge is hollow and one has to go inside that for painting. The electrical spray painting used to paint metal emits gas and smoke, and hence the workers usually come out every 10 minutes and then go inside again for painting. But in this case, there would have been a large emission of the smoke, which eventually caught fire somehow and the blast occurred. We are yet to get a report from the fire department. We would be filing an FIR against the one responsible for the fire,” said Madhukar Bhatte, senior police inspector from Nhava Sheva police station.

The deceased has been identified as Abdul Salam (23) while the injured are Harilal Prajapati (25) and Anuj Rajveer Singh (20).

Meanwhile, JNPT released a statement saying, “An explosion occurred at around 5.45pm when the contract workers were carrying out routine maintenance work of their barge. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority has immediately rushed the workers to a hospital. One workman was declared dead, one is admitted in National Burns Centre, Airoli and the third workman is being treated for minor injuries. The reasons for the minor explosion are being examined.”