One worker injured in blast at Ulhasnagar plant 'serious'

KALYAN: A tanker explosion in Century Rayon's Ulhasnagar plant has claimed the lives of two workers. Two others were reported missing till the time of filing this report late Saturday evening. While the rear portion of the tanker was completely destroyed in the blast, chunks of human flesh were found strewn around the site of the incident. The company said that it has initiated an internal investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident.

The two workers of the company who have been reported missing have been identified as Ananta Jadhav alias Dingore (50) and Pavan Yadav.

According to a few workers, the two missing workers may have been blown to pieces. Police personnel who visited the site also expressed this possibility. However, there was no confirmation about this at the time of filing the report.

An accidental death report has been filed at Ulhasnagar police station. Senior police inspector Dilip Fulpagare said that they have collected the body parts found at the site of the explosion and said that they would send them for DNA test to identify the victims.

Of the six injured persons, the condition of one was said to be 'serious' while four others are out of danger. The injured are the tanker driver Pandit More (43), the vehicle cleaner Hansraj Saroj (52), Sagar Jhalte (44), Prashant Nikam (34) and Amit whose surname and age were not immediately known. One person was discharged after preliminary treatment. This person's details were not immediately available.

The sound of the explosion was heard around a 2km radius, said locals. Residents of the surrounding localities such as Gulshan Nagar, Shahad and Ulhasnagar 1 said the noise "shocked" them.

Rajesh Jadhav who lives in Gulshan Nagar locality said, "The blast was deafening...it was scary. We hope the company increases its safety systems to avoid any such incidents in the future."

Following the explosion, fire brigade personnel and the police to the site. By that time, however, the company authorities had managed to control the situation with their own safety systems.

In the past, several mishaps have taken place at Century Rayon, which employs several Ulhasnagar residents. Local Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Kumar Ailani visited the injured workers. Nationalist Congress Party legislator Rohit Pawar too met the injured patients and demanded that the police investigate the incident thoroughly.

A statement issued by the company said that "suitable compensation and job assurance to depenants of the deceased" persons would be planned.


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