SIX workers, including five young women, were killed and six others were injured, three of them seriously, when a blast occurred at the plant of Chamundi Explosives Pvt Ltd at village Dhamna (Turagondi) in Hingna area on Amravati Road, Thursday afternoon. The deceased have been identified as Pranjali Kisan Modre (22), Prachi Shrikant Falke (20), Vaishali Anandrao Kshirsagar (20), all residents of Dhamna, Monali Shankarrao Aloney (27), a resident of Neri, Sheetal Ashish Chatap (3) and Pannalal Bandewar (50), both residents of Satnawri. Injured Shraddha Vanraj Patil (22), Pramod Chaware (25) Dansa Maraskolhe (26) and three others were rushed to Mayo Hospital. One of the victims was taken to Dande Hospital, Ravi Nagar. Around 12.25 pm, the villagers were jolted by a deafening blast audible for several kilometres in the area. The impact of the blast was so intense that the roof of the factory was in tatters and tremors were felt by villagers. Locals, who rushed to the factory in the aftermath of the explosion, were shocked to find the charred bodies of the workers. Soon after receiving information about the tragedy, staff from Hingna and Wadi Police Stations arrived at the spot.

 

 

 

A team of firefighters along with fire engines also arrived. Cops sent the bodies to Mayo Hospital for autopsy. The injured were also rushed to Mayo Hospital and Dande Hospital in Ravi Nagar. The death toll is likely to increase. Commissioner of Police Dr Ravinder Singal, Joint Commissioner of Police Aswati Dorje, Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) Shivajirao Rathod, Deputy Commissioner Police (Zone-I) Anurag Jain visited the spot to supervise the probe. Initial investigation revealed that the explosion occurred when the workers were packing the explosives. What triggered the blast could not be ascertained till the filing of this report. The company which started its business in May 1987 is engaged in manufacture of explosives, ammunition and fireworks. Headed by managing director Shivshankar Khemka, the company allegedly had taken no safety measures for the workers.

 

Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was among the first to reach the spot and take stock of the situation. Deshmukh, who is the NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader said that the owner and the manager of the factory escaped from the spot. “There was no ambulance inside the unit. The people had to approach other authorities to get the ambulance and take the injured to the hospital,” he added. Speaking to mediapersons, Commissioner of Police Dr Singal said that firecrackers stocked in the unit were completely gutted in the blaze and the subsequent explosion left six persons dead. “Preliminary inquiries revealed that the fire broke out probably from the microchord of the fire crackers,” he added. The top cop said, an in-depth probe was on to ascertain the exact cause behind the incident and check whether all protocols like storage of explosives in a licensed magazine, trained personnel present during access of the storage magazine, were followed or not. Appropriate action would be initiated only after the investigation was over, he added. A team of experts from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) is likely to visit the spot for inspection.