3 Dead, 4 Injured From Blast at Chemical Plant

Update: A third person has died due to the blast.

A blast at a chemical factory in Maharashtra’s Raigad district in India left two people dead and four injured on Thursday.

Five fire tenders rushed to Sadhana Nitro Chem Ltd., located in the Dhatav MIDC area of Roha town, approximately 110 km from Mumbai in West India on Thursday around 11:15 a.m. local time.

"The blast occurred in the storage tank of the chemical plant," Raigad's Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge said.

Two staffers, who were working at the storage tank, died in the incident. Four others, who were working close by, suffered burn injuries, he added.

Upon receiving the information about the blast, the personnel of the fire brigade and local police rushed to the spot and launched a search and rescue operation.

The injured workers were rushed to a state-run hospital in Roha. They were currently being treated at the time, Gharge said.

Sadhana Nitro Chem manufactures chemical intermediates, heavy organic chemicals, and performance chemicals, including downstream derivatives of nitrobenzene and other intermediates for various applications in aerospace, pharma and agriculture, optical brightening agents, plastic additives, special fibers, epoxy resin hardeners, dyes, and performance chemicals. 

Just a few months ago in May, 10 people died and 60+ were injured after a major fire erupted following a boiler explosion at a chemical factory in Dombivli, Thane district, also in the state of Maharashtra.