The toll in the massive explosion at an industrial unit in Dombivli township of Thane district mounted to 11 on Friday. According to the police, 47 of the 201 injured are undergoing treatment in different hospitals in Mumbai. A case has been registered against the company management for not taking proper safety measures that allegedly led to the mishap.
“The offence stated the company management did not take proper care and safety measures in the factory’s distillation plant that resulted in the incident and death and injury to the humans,” said Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar.
Though nobody has been named in the case, the management has been booked under Sections 304(2), 337 and 338 of the IPC, the officer said.
The incident had occurred around 11.30 am on Thursday, when cylinders exploded, triggering a blaze in the chemical unit of Probace Enterprises at Shivaji Udyog Nagar of MIDC phase-II area in Dombivli (East).
A senior officer of Manpada police station confirmed that the total number of deceased had gone up to 11. The deceased include the company founder’s son Sumit Vakatkar and his wife Snehal, Narkar said. According to Narkar, Snehal body was found on top of the security cabin on the company premises. “Due to the impact, she was blown off and fell on the cabin. One body that was recovered yesterday, was today identified as that of her husband Sumit’s,” she added.
Thane District Collector Mahendra Kalyankar said of the 201 injured, 159 have been discharged, while 47 were undergoing treatment in 18 hospitals.
Meanwhile, work on the removal of debris is still on and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is assisting in the work. Chief of the disaster control cell of Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), Deepak Patil, said now only 25 per cent debris removal work was left and it is likely to be over by night.