The blast, which occurred around 3 a.m. in the boiler of Vishal Pharma’s solvent plant in Saykha GIDC, Vagra taluka, brought down the entire building and damaged several nearby factories. A search is underway for a third person feared dead.
“The plant of the company (Vishal Pharma) is of small capacity for about 20 workers. However, the blast was so intense that the entire building collapsed and adjoining companies also suffered damage due to smaller leakages and fire. We have recovered two bodies from the plant while search is on for a third person," Bharuch District Collector Gaurang Makwana told The Indian Express.
Out of the 25 injured persons, two belonged to the same company while the rest were workers in neighboring plants.
“We are removing the scrap and looking for more bodies that could be trapped in the debris. We will have clarity on the issue as the debris is cleared. The cause of the blast is not yet known,” he said.
District Superintendent of Police Akshay Raj said the temperature from the blast was so high that police and rescue teams could not go inside until the fire was cooled down.
"Now that the fire has been put out, a search operation has been underway since morning. The forensic teams are also collecting evidence,” he added.
The Sarpanch of Saykha village, Jaiveersinh, has alleged that Vishal Pharma was operating without necessary permits from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).
"We know that there was no permit given to this company where the blast occurred yesterday. The administration has turned a blind eye to this. There was a fire in one of the prominent paints companies in Saykha GIDC just a few months ago but fire tenders could not reach in time due to narrow roads, and the rescue operations took too long. Even in this case, the cluster is so haphazard that in case of a fire or emergency, the fire tenders cannot even reach the companies in time. It is a ticking bomb for villagers as many companies are violating permits or have none. The administration must look into this as well as illegal construction within these clusters, ” he said, demanding an investigation into the operations of Vishal Pharma.
Further details are awaited.
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