In a tragic incident, six workers were killed while two managed to escape in a blast that triggered a fire in Om Organics, a chemical factory in Gujarat’s Bharuch district on Monday.
The incident took place around 3 am in the unit located in Dahej industrial area killing six workers who were working near a reactor.
According to information the reactor blew off during the solvent distillation process. The fire was doused off in a joint effort of police, fire team, and others.
Police said the employees and labourers at the factory were busy near a chemical reactor in the distillation unit when a sudden blast caused a fire that engulfed the entire section.
Police are investigating the incident if there was any negligence.
The deceased have been identified as Parasnath Yadav and Ratan Kushvaha (both operators) from Uttar Pradesh, Jaydeep Bamroliya lab technician from Junagadh, Rajubhai Vasava (helper) from Narmada district, Punit Mohanto (helper) from Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh native Tirath Gadari (operator).
After the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakhs to the next kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the incident from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
Police said, officials from the forensic lab and state pollution board are finding the cause of the blast. At present, we have registered an accidental death case. Further probe underway