31 monkeys, 14 pigeons die in suspected gas leak from industrial unit in Maharashtra
Raigad (Maharashtra), Dec 16: Around 30 monkeys and 14 pigeons died after suspected gas leak from an industrial unit in Raigad district of Maharashtra, officials said Sunday.
The carcasses of the animals were buried in pits near the place following the incident that took place on Thursday night at the unit located in Posri area of Panvel taluka, around 10 km from the Karnala Bird Sanctuary, they said.
A senior official at the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) at Raigad said fumes that leaked out of a chemical storage tank might have spread in the atmosphere and caused the mishap.
Terming the incident as "unfortunate", Raigad District Collector Vijay Suryavanshi said the gas leaked from one of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) plants, which was previously a unit of the Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL).
Acting on a tip-off, teams of the forest department, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and police visited the site for an inspection on Saturday, Chief Conservator of Forests S R Kadam said.
They exhumed carcasses of 31 monkeys and 14 pigeons buried in pits dug up at the site, he said.
A raw acid leaked from one of the old plants leading to the incident, Suryavanshi said, adding that various agencies were conducting a probe into it.
Eight people, including seven attached to the BPCL and a driver of the JCB excavating machine, were detained in connection with the incident but later let-off, he said.
Notably, the Centre had last year announced a restructuring plan to close loss-making PSU's non-viable unit at Rasayani in Raigad except the di-nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) plant, which was to be transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"Prima facie there seems to be no lapses from any quarter," Suryavanshi said, adding that he has directed the chief conservator of forests and the ISRO to conduct a detailed investigation into the causes of gas leakage and lapses, if any.
"A comprehensive probe is being carried out into the incident," the collector said.
The authorities concerned have also been asked to suggest ways to prevent such incidents in the future, he said.
There was no senior officer present at the site on the day of the incident as they had gone for a meeting in Mumbai, he said.
Kadam said the autopsy was conducted by a veterinary doctor in Panvel and some parts were sent to the Haffkine Institute, a premier biomedical research facility, in Mumbai for further examination.
A case was registered under the Wildlife Protection Act, Rasayani police station inspector Ashok Jagdale said.
M R Patil, joint director, DISH, Raigad, told PTI that some part of the premises originally owned by HOCL had been given to BPCL and that the leakage took place from the latter's plant on December 13.
He said DISH officials were camping in the premises and carrying out a probe to find out the cause and extent of the acid leakage.
"The fumes that leaked out of the storage tank might have spread in the atmosphere and caused the mishap," he said, adding the plant has a nitric acid storage tank.
Terming the death of animals as "unnatural", he said there was surely an acid leakage as without that, the death of so many monkeys and pigeons may not be possible under natural circumstances.
"The exact cause of the leakage will be known only after the detailed investigation," he added.
As regards the role of ISRO in the premises, Patil said he was not competent to comment on it.
According to District Disaster Control Officer Sagar Phatak, the plant was shut for some weeks and restarted on Thursday.
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.
MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
ALSO READ: Alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers, TMC files complaint with EC
According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
