Death toll in Thane blast rises to 11; chemical stink and ash cover 4 km area

Dombivli and surroundings of an area of around 4 km had a strong stench of burnt chemicals and a thin layer of smoky ash on roads

PGurus Newsdesk

May 24, 2024

Dombivli and surroundings of an area of around 4 km had a strong stench of burnt chemicals and a thin layer of smoky ash on roads

Thane factory blast: Eknath Shinde says hazardous units to be relocated

The death toll in the blast-cum-blaze of Amudan Chemicals Pvt Ltd factory in Dombivli, Thane rose to 11 with another three bodies dug up from the rubble, officials said here on Friday.

Dombivli and its surroundings an area of around 4 km had a strong stench of burnt chemicals and a thin layer of smoky ash on roads, shops, and homes, from Thursday’s tragedy and most people were seen moving around wearing face masks to avoid the stink.

While the blaze was extinguished Thursday night, cooling operations were underway, the search continued for more victims feared trapped under the debris, and the effects of the disaster were felt in a radius of over 2-3 km.

Today morning the Amudan factory premises inside the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) resembled a war zone emitting a foul smell of burnt metal, crashed buildings, chemicals, and deaths.

The NDRF, SDRF, and Fire Brigade, which had halted operations after dark, resumed the rescue operations and recovered three more bodies from the rubble, while another 64 persons were injured and admitted to various hospitals.

The Thane Police have booked the owners of the factory, Malay Mehta, and his wife Malati Mehta under various sections pertaining to negligence, culpable homicide, etc.

Late on Thursday evening, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the tragedy site and said that in view of the risks posed by certain categories of industries, the government plans to shift such hazardous factories to another location to avoid such disasters in the future.

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