Eight killed, 60 injured in Dombivli MIDC factory blasts

Eknath Shinde declared an ex-gratia amount of ₹5 lakh for families of the deceased and said the state government would bear the cost of treatment

THANE: At least eight persons including two workers were killed and 60 persons were injured on Thursday afternoon due to multiple boiler blasts at a chemical factory located in the Dombivli MIDC complex in Thane district. The death toll is likely to go up further as more workers are feared trapped at the site, said officials. Police said they had booked the owners of the factory for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Chief minister Eknath Shinde declared an ex-gratia amount of ₹5 lakh for families of the deceased and said the state government would bear the cost of treatment of those injured in the incident.

The blasts occurred at Amudan Chemicals Private Limited, a 44-year-old company owned by Malay Mehta which manufactures various dyes and shades using hydrogen peroxide, said an MIDC official. Ten employees were present in the factory at the time, including the manager, six workers and three watchmen. (HT photo)

The blasts occurred at Amudan Chemicals Private Limited, a 44-year-old company owned by Malay Mehta which manufactures various dyes and shades using hydrogen peroxide, said an MIDC official. Ten employees were present in the factory at the time, including the manager, six workers and three watchmen.

The first explosion was reported at around 1.40pm, followed by others – while some MIDC officials claimed there were two blasts, fire brigade officers engaged in rescue operations said at least four blasts occurred one after the other. The blasts were so powerful that they shattered glass panes of doors and windows and ripped through rooftop sheds of houses located within a 4-km radius. Residents of the area were gripped by panic, with many getting injured due to the impact of the blasts.

“I was sleeping with my 2-year-old son near the window when I heard a loud explosion and the window came crashing down on him,” said Vijay Sahu, a resident of Vighnaharta Society located opposite the Amudan factory. “Thankfully, I had covered him with a blanket, so he escaped with a minor injury on his leg,” he noted.

Around 12 to 15 other housing societies were also similarly affected, with nearly 30-40 flat owners from every society reporting shattered door and window panes.

Smoke billowed from the site after the blasts as a massive fire engulfed neighbouring factories, including Amber Chemical Company, MKG, and Metropolitan, said officials. Such was its intensity that personnel from the Kalyan-Dombivli Fire Brigade and the Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF), who rushed to the spot, had to try dousing it from outside the factory premises for nearly 30 minutes. After they moved in, they saw several drums filled with chemicals that were stored inside were exploding one after the other, adding to the fire.

While the fire was brought under control after nearly eight hours, the cause is still unknown, said officials.

“There were more than four back-to-back blasts due to which the fire spread rapidly,” said fire brigade officer Namdev Chaudhari. Two fire engines from Dombivali MIDC, five fire engines from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation and one high-rise fire vehicle from Thane were pressed into operation, he said. “We have recovered eight bodies so far. But there are high chances of more bodies being stuck inside,” said Chaudhari.

The deceased include Riddhi Khanvilkar, a 36-year-old woman working in Amudan Chemicals, and Rohini Kadam, a 26-year-old woman working in the neighbouring Amber Chemical Company, which was also gutted.

Kadam’s neighbour Samir Survey said she had joined Amber Chemicals about a year and a half ago. “Rohini was the second child of her parents. After her elder sister’s marriage, she became the principal breadwinner of the family, taking care of her father’s treatment and her younger brother’s education. Her death has shattered us all,” said Survey.

Deepa Shukla, health officer of KDMC, said they had not been able to identify the dead bodies as they were either dismembered or charred beyond recognition. “The injured have been admitted at five different private hospitals,” he said.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde, industries minister Uday Samat, local MLA Raju Patil and other leaders visited the spot and assured support to the families of victims. “We are stopping all highly hazardous companies in the area. They can either shift their factories away from residential areas or change their business to Information Technology or engineering,” said Shinde. He said the government would also set up a high-level committee to inquire if industrial safety audits had been conducted properly.