Seven dead, more than 40 injured in massive blast at chemical factory in Thane district
Thane, May 23: As many as seven persons were killed and more than 40 injured following an explosion at a chemical factory in Maharashtra's Thane district on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
As a boiler exploded at Amudan Chemicals located in Phase 2 of Dombivli MIDC area around 1.40 pm, the impact of the explosion and the resultant blaze affected adjacent factories.
As per the preliminary information, those killed were working in neighbouring factories, said Maharashtra industries minister Uday Samant.
Five men and two women were killed in the incident but their bodies were charred beyond recognition, said Yasin Tadvi, chief of the disaster management cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation.
"My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones," said deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on X.
"Injured are being treated at AIMS, Neptune and Global hospitals, and every kind of assistance is being provided. Praying for their speedy recovery. Various teams and administrative officials are on the spot for rescue operations," he added.
Besides fire brigade, police and local officials, the NDRF too was taking part in the rescue operation, officials said.
Minister Samant told PTI that the plant where the explosion took place was not in operation for the last few months and had restarted only a few days ago.
Samant, local MP Shrikant Shinde and MLA Raju Patil visited the site inside the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area, some 40 km from Mumbai.
The blast was so loud that it was heard a kilometre away, an eyewitness said. Glass windows of adjoining buildings cracked while many houses in the vicinity were damaged, officials said.
Thick clouds of smoke could be seen hovering over the factory.
Speaking to reporters at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said a massive rescue and relief operation was underway at the site and he had directed the district collector to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident.
Plans were afoot to shift hazardous chemical factories from Dombivli to Ambernath MIDC in the district, the CM said in reply to a question.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
RCB secure IPL playoff berth with 23-run win against Punjab Kings
Dharamsala (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru rode on fluent half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer, along with a decisive opening spell from pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to thrash Punjab Kings by 23 runs and seal a playoff berth in the IPL here on Sunday.
Kohli (58 off 37 balls), Iyer (73 not out off 40 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (45) produced impactful knocks as RCB piled up 222 for 4 in 20 overs.
Bhuvneshwar (2/38) then removed the dangerous Punjab Kings opening pair of Priyansh Arya (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (2) early to all but shut the door on the opposition, who eventually managed 199 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Pacer Rasikh Salam (3/36) compounded Punjab Kings' misery by dismissing skipper Shreyas Iyer (1) in the fourth over as the hosts slumped to 19 for 3.
Late-order batters Shashank Singh (56 off 27 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (37 off 25 balls) attempted to revive the innings with a counter-attacking effort, but the towering RCB total ultimately proved far beyond PBKS' reach.
Earlier, Kohli stitched together a 76-run stand with Devdutt for the second wicket to lay the foundation before adding another 60 runs with Venkatesh for the third wicket as table-toppers RCB delivered yet another authoritative batting display.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 222 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 58, Devdutt Padikkal 45, Venkatesh Iyer 73 not out; Harpreet Brar 2/35).
Punjab Kings: 199 for 8 in 20 overs (Cooper Connolly 37, Suryansh Shedge 35, Marcus Stoinis 37, Shashank Singh 56; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/38, Rasikh Salam 3/36).
