13 killed in Indian chemical factory explosion
02 September 2019
An explosion at a chemical factory in India has killed 13 people and injured up to 70 others. The explosion happened on August 31 near Dhule in Maharashtra state. Local media reported that a series of explosions occurred at the factory where around 100 employees were thought to have been working.
Representative image: Shutterstock
The death toll is expected to increase as a search of the factory continues. Reports on the number of injured vary between different local media outlets, but the number is thought to be between 50 and 70. It is thought that family members of some of the employees were also in the factory when the explosion occurred.
The cause of the blast is still unclear. Some reports in local media suggest a chemical leak led to a fire which ignited several gas cylinders, while other reports suggest a short-circuit caused a fire and the subsequent explosions. An inquiry into the incident has been announced.
The Times of India reported that the entire structure of the factory was destroyed and that the blast was felt in a number of surrounding villages up to 5km away.
The factory, owned by Rumit ChemSynth Pvt Ltd, is a specialist chemical manufacturing plant and producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients.
The state government announced that it will give a compensation fee of Rs 500,000 (£5,753) to the families of the deceased.