Chemical factory fire in Dombivli kills 5 & injures 126, owner’s kin among missing

MUMBAI: Five people died, 126 were injured and many remained missing after an explosion in a Dombivli chemical factory, at MIDC Phase-II, on Thursday morning. The blast shattered windows of buildings and blew away a few roofs as far as two kilometres from the factory, creating panic in city.
Police said the explosion took place at 11.30am in the chemical factory of Probace Enterprises.Among those missing are the two sons and a daughter-in-law of Probace’s owner, Vishwas Vakatkar. They were reportedly in the factory at the time of the blast along with a few other employees. Rescue workers were unable to remove all the debris as some parts were too hot even after the fire was doused.
The five who died were identified as Mahesh Pandey (26), Raju Shilgare, 60, Gyaneshwar Hajari (45), Neelam Dethe (40) and one unknown person. While Pandey, Dethe and the unidentified victim were from a neighbouring factory, Hajari, a bullock cart rider, was passing by. Two bullocks died while two were injured and were shifted to Bombay SPCA for treatment. Shilgare, who recently underwent a bypass surgery, lived in a building nearby and reportedly died of a heart attack following the sound of the blast. The injured were taken to the nearby hospitals like Icon, AIMS, RR, Shastrinagar and Fortis and 58 were discharged after treatment but 13 are reportedly in a serious condition.
In the last two decades, Dombivli residents have demanded that chemical units be moved out of the city following a series of chemical and gas leaks and explosions in the MIDC area. Interestingly, there are only 12 inspectors to examine the over 3,000 factories in the five MIDC areas in Dombivli, Bhiwandi, Shahapur, Murbad, Ambernath and Badlapur.
Police said initially it was believed that a boiler blast caused the explosion but they later found the factory did not have a boiler unit and the fire may have instead been caused by a reaction of chemicals kept in the unit. The fire may have spread to cylinders kept in the factory which exploded and further fuelled the fire, affecting the adjacent Herbert Brown plant and cylinders kept in it.
Ashutosh Dumbre, joint commissioner of police, Thane, said, “We have sought help from the factory inspector and other departments to determine the exact cause of the fire.” Manpada police have registered a case against the factory owner under IPC section 304A (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the spot in the evening and announced compensation to the kin of the deceased and to those injured.
The impact of the explosion shattered glass panes of buildings and shutters of shops up to around two kilometres from the factory. Most of those injured were either standing near their windows or were inside shops. “Most of the injuries are due to cuts caused by glass on various parts of the body. Some of eople had suffered minor injuries but were in trauma,” said Dr Arvind Bengari of Icon Hospital. “My brother Ashok Chavan (35) suffered injuries on his legs and is in the ICU. Doctors say they might have to put a rod in his left leg,” said Kavita Chavan, a relative.
The incident has left children traumatized who were seen requesting their parents to shift from their houses. “My son was not willing to go home even after first aid as he was traumatized. My son and I were injured by glass shards that pierced our bodies. I suffered 10 stitches on my shoulder and three on my forehead,” said Ravindra Vavalkar (41), an IT manager who lives in Mangal Murti Society, near the blast area.