Four still missing in Mahad factory explosion, rescue op stalled

Rescue operations at the Blue Jet Healthcare factory in Mahad, where three explosions caused a massive fire, have been stalled as four missing workers are feared to be trapped under the rubble. The operations cannot resume until the flammable drums of chemicals and the melted steel frame are removed.

NAVI MUMBAI: Rescue operations at the Blue Jet Healthcare factory in Mahad MIDC, where three explosions led to a massive fire on Friday, have been stalled, as the four remaining missing persons are feared to be trapped under the rubble. The operations cannot resume until the flammable drums of chemicals and the factory’s steel frame, which melted in the fire, are removed.

Raigad, Nov 04 (ANI): NDRF team during a rescue operation after an explosion occurred at Blue Jet Healthcare, Mahad MIDC in Raigad district on Friday. (ANI Photo) (ANI)

From 8 am on Sunday, Blue Jet Healthcare officials began supervising the removal of the chemical-filled drums from the site. “Many drums have highly flammable chemicals in them,” said Ravi Prakash, second-in-command of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Pune unit. “We could see three drums intact, while others were swollen due to the fire. There could be more inside. Unless the drums and the demolished parts are removed, we cannot go inside and continue with the rescue operation.”

When questioned how much time the procedure would take, Prakash replied that he could not say for sure. “It all depends on the situation of each drum,” he said. “We can see fumes emanating from some drums.”

According to the police, the workers who knew about the quantity and the placing of the chemical drums are under the factory’s rubble. “We, along with the company officials and NDRF, are supervising the clearing of the drums. But the exact number can’t be predicted,” said assistant police inspector Maruti Andhale from Mahad MIDC police station. Harish Motwani, COO of Blue Jet Healthcare, said the company assumed that there were more than 15 inside. “In around eight hours, five drums of chemicals could be taken out,” he said.

On Friday morning, the factory caught fire following three blasts of which the reason is as yet unknown. In the rescue operation that was conducted from the wee hours of Saturday till night by the NDRF, seven bodies were recovered charred beyond identification. The bodies have been shifted to Panvel rural hospital for a post-mortem, from where they will be shifted to the Kalina forensic lab for DNA tests to confirm their identity.

A total of 57 workers were in the factory when the explosion happened, of whom 46 were saved, seven of them with minor injuries. The injured were identified as Mayur Pradeeprao Nimbalkar, Jata Podo Urao, Swapnil Sharad Ambre, Rahul Nimba Girase, Nimai Luya Murmu, Uttap Nani Gopal Vishwas and Vikram Chimaji Dere.

Among the 11 who were missing, the seven found dead are yet to be identified. The 11 missing workers are Abhimanyu Bhimrang Urav, Jeevan Kumar Chaubey, Vikas Babul Mahanto, Sanjay Shivaji Pawar, Akshay Balaram Sutar, Aditya More, Shashikant Dattatrey Bhusane, Somnath Shivaji Vaydande, Vishal Ravindra Koli, Aslam Mehboob Shaikh and Satish Bapu Salunke.