Massive blast in chemical factory near Mumbai kills 8

Mumbai: At least eight people were killed in a major explosion at a chemical factory in Boisar in Palghar district on Saturday evening. The death toll is expected to increase as more people are trapped in the blaze. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced an ex-gratia of `5 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

“Eight people were reported dead in the fire that broke out at the chemical factory in Boisar,” Palghar SP said. The owner of the factory was also killed in the explosion.

According to police officials, the explosion took place at a chemical unit called Tara Nitrate, located at Kolwade village in Boisar, at about 7 pm.

“The explosion was so massive that it was heard within a 30-kilometre radius. Several shops were gutted in the fire,” officials said.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team had been called for rescue operations, officials said. “The power was automatically shut and so as a safety measure we switched off the power supply of the N Zone feeder as a result around 200 units have no power due to the mishap,” said Laxman Rathod, deputy executive engineer, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL).

“The chief minister was monitoring the relief and rescue operation himself,” a statement from the CMO said.