Palghar, Apr 21 (PTI) A worker was killed and five others were seriously injured after an explosion ripped through a firecracker factory in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Tuesday, police said.
Two persons were arrested in connection with the incident, said an official.
Earlier, the administration had put the death toll at two, but a corrected statement in the evening said a male worker died while a woman with 80 per cent burns was undergoing treatment.
The tragedy follows the blast at a firecracker factory in Tamil Nadu which claimed 23 lives and left many injured on Sunday.
The explosion occurred around 12 pm on Tuesday at a firecracker manufacturing unit operating out of a tin shed inside an old farmhouse at Konsai village of Wada taluka, said Vivekanand Kadam, chief of the civic disaster management cell.
As many as 35 workers, mostly women, were engaged in manufacturing ‘twine bombs’ (thread-bound crackers) at the time, he said.
“The explosion took place when a chemical mixing process was underway, killing one worker on the spot, and leaving a woman — Monica Sachin Padwale (30) — with 80 per cent burn injuries,” an official from Wada police station said. The woman was later shifted to a Mumbai hospital.
The deceased worker was identified as Bhavesh Dileep Vavare (35).
Monica Mahendra Jadhav (30), Jagruti Jagdish Gavate (27), Pratibha Pratap Pawar (30) and Monica Mohan Vardi (25) also sustained serious injuries and were undergoing treatment at Wada Rural Hospital.
“Fire services and police reached the spot immediately to oversee rescue operations. The blaze following the explosion was quickly brought under control by the fire brigade,” the official said.
As per preliminary investigations, raw materials were brought from outside to the unit which had begun operations on April 10, and daily-wage workers from nearby villages including Jamghar, Konsai, Palsai and Alman were employed.
A probe is underway to ascertain if the manufacturing unit possessed necessary licenses and followed safety protocols, the police official said.
“We are probing the exact cause of the fire and possible negligence regarding safety measures at the site,” the official said, adding that a search was underway for the owners of the manufacturing unit.
The factory shed collapsed following the blast, sending splinters flying. Body parts of the deceased were found some distance away.
District Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh told PTI that the process of registering an offence against three persons including the shed owner was underway.
The shed owner and another accused were arrested and the police were on the look-out of the third accused. PTI COR ARU KRK
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