According to the police, the explosion took place at the Dr Khan Industrial Consultants (DKIC) unit located at Lote Parshuram MIDC (chemical zone), around 250 km from Mumbai
Those injured have been admitted to local hospital, police said. Representational Pic/File/iStock
At least 11 persons, most of them workers, were injured in an explosion at a chemical factory in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra on Friday, police said, reported the PTI.
According to the police, the explosion took place at the Dr Khan Industrial Consultants (DKIC) unit located at Lote Parshuram MIDC (chemical zone), around 250 km from Mumbai.
DKIC is a leading manufacturer of various specialty silica based chemicals and chemical intermediates and caters to a wide array of industries ranging from steel, textile, paints and electronics, as per the PTI.
The injured have been admitted to local hospital, police said, adding they are probing the cause of the accident.
Further details are awaited.
19 killed in Nagpur factory blast
The incident comes days after a massive explosion at Nagpur factory that killed 19 people.
Maharashtra minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule had earlier this week said that prima facie there was "negligence" on the part of the private company operating the facility as it failed to follow safety measures.
Bawankule insisted that besides the firm, SBL Energy Ltd, accountability for the tragedy will also be fixed on officials of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) and the labour commissionerate.
23 others were injured
Speaking separately, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pitched for 100 per cent automation of certain protocols and processes in manufacturing of explosives, and said the SBL Energy's managing director was among nearly a dozen people who have been arrested in connection with the blast.
At least 19 workers died and 23 people were injured in the blast at the detonator assembly unit of SBL Energy, a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer, at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil of Nagpur district on Sunday morning.
Eighteen of the workers died on Sunday and one succumbed on Monday.
The PESO, DISH and the labour commissionerate have failed to ensure safety practices in explosive manufacturing units in the region, and their accountability must be fixed, Bawankule told reporters in Nagpur.
Of the injured persons, 13 were in critical condition, the Nagpur district guardian minister stated.
Compensation announced
He informed that the company will pay a compensation of Rs 75 lakh to the families of each of the deceased and Rs 25 lakh to every injured person. Besides, the state government will provide Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased, while the Centre will give Rs 2 lakh.
Thus, the families of the deceased will get a total compensation of Rs 82 lakh each, Bawankule said, adding a rehabilitation package will be drawn up for those who suffered physical disabilities in the tragedy.
He held a meeting with state minister Ashish Jaiswal, Ramtek MP Shyamkumar Barwe, Katol MLA Sharad Singh Thakur, the divisional commissioner, district collector, superintendent of police, and officials of PESO and DISH in connection with the blast.
Police have registered a case against 21 directors and shareholders of SBL Energy under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, officials said.
(with PTI inputs)
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