<p>At least three workers were killed and 129 others injured in a huge explosion at an industrial unit today in Dombivili township of the district near here, police said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The mishap occurred at about 11.30 AM when cylinders exploded leading to a fire in the chemical manufacturing unit of Herbert Brown Pharmaceutical and Research Laboratories at Shivaji Udyog Nagar of MIDC phase-II area in Dombivili (East), a unit of the Acharya Chemicals.<br /><br />"As of now, the number of dead is three and that of injured is 129," Thane District Collector Mahendra Kalyankar told PTI.<br /><br />The injured were rushed to various hospitals in Thane, Dombivli and Kalyan, he said, adding, NDRF personnel were also involved in the rescue operation, along with fire brigade and police.<br /><br />The intensity of the blast was so high that window panes in adjoining buildings were shattered and shocked people were seen running helter-skelter, an eyewitness said.<br />Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief at the mishap while Industries Minister Subhash Desai and Guardian Minister for the district Eknath Shinde visited the site along with Kalyankar.<br /><br />Minister of state for Home Ram Shinde said an inquiry will be conducted into the incident.<br />Terming the incident as unfortunate, Fadnavis said he has asked the police and local authorities to speed up the operations.<br /><br />Thane Joint Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre said rescue operations were on as some more persons could be trapped in the debris.<br /><br />He said the toll could go up but it would be known only after clearing the debris.<br />He said the impact of the explosion was felt in an area of around five kilometres in which vehicles were damaged.<br /><br />Over a dozen firefighters from Thane, Kalyan, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Badlapur and Navi Mumbai were rushed to the spot to extinguish the flames.<br /><br />Police said the rescue team was facing a tough task in clearing the debris as chemical barrels and drums were lying buried under it.<br /><br />The District Collector is likely to hold a meeting with the Directorate of Industrial Safety, police, MIDC, and Kalyan Dombivili Municipal Corporation officials to find out if safety norms were followed by the chemical unit.<br /><br />Thane District Regional Disaster Management Cell In-charge Santosh Kadam said the rescue operations were affected because of the fire and it was not immediately known how many persons were trapped inside.<br /><br />At least 15 ambulances were rushed to the site, he added.<br /><br />The NRDF team from Pune was rushed to Dombivili to assist in the rescue operations.<br />"Saddened to know about the unfortunate & tragic incident that took place at Dombivali," Fadnavis tweeted.<br /><br />"Spoke to police officials & local authorities and asked them to speed up the relief operations," he said.<br /><br />"We are constantly in touch with the local administration and we would leave no stone unturned in our efforts & relief operation," he said in another tweet.<br /><br />BJP MLA from Dombivili Ravindra Chavan expressed serious concern over the explosions in the MIDC and sought a permanent solution for it.<br /></p>
<p>At least three workers were killed and 129 others injured in a huge explosion at an industrial unit today in Dombivili township of the district near here, police said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The mishap occurred at about 11.30 AM when cylinders exploded leading to a fire in the chemical manufacturing unit of Herbert Brown Pharmaceutical and Research Laboratories at Shivaji Udyog Nagar of MIDC phase-II area in Dombivili (East), a unit of the Acharya Chemicals.<br /><br />"As of now, the number of dead is three and that of injured is 129," Thane District Collector Mahendra Kalyankar told PTI.<br /><br />The injured were rushed to various hospitals in Thane, Dombivli and Kalyan, he said, adding, NDRF personnel were also involved in the rescue operation, along with fire brigade and police.<br /><br />The intensity of the blast was so high that window panes in adjoining buildings were shattered and shocked people were seen running helter-skelter, an eyewitness said.<br />Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief at the mishap while Industries Minister Subhash Desai and Guardian Minister for the district Eknath Shinde visited the site along with Kalyankar.<br /><br />Minister of state for Home Ram Shinde said an inquiry will be conducted into the incident.<br />Terming the incident as unfortunate, Fadnavis said he has asked the police and local authorities to speed up the operations.<br /><br />Thane Joint Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre said rescue operations were on as some more persons could be trapped in the debris.<br /><br />He said the toll could go up but it would be known only after clearing the debris.<br />He said the impact of the explosion was felt in an area of around five kilometres in which vehicles were damaged.<br /><br />Over a dozen firefighters from Thane, Kalyan, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Badlapur and Navi Mumbai were rushed to the spot to extinguish the flames.<br /><br />Police said the rescue team was facing a tough task in clearing the debris as chemical barrels and drums were lying buried under it.<br /><br />The District Collector is likely to hold a meeting with the Directorate of Industrial Safety, police, MIDC, and Kalyan Dombivili Municipal Corporation officials to find out if safety norms were followed by the chemical unit.<br /><br />Thane District Regional Disaster Management Cell In-charge Santosh Kadam said the rescue operations were affected because of the fire and it was not immediately known how many persons were trapped inside.<br /><br />At least 15 ambulances were rushed to the site, he added.<br /><br />The NRDF team from Pune was rushed to Dombivili to assist in the rescue operations.<br />"Saddened to know about the unfortunate & tragic incident that took place at Dombivali," Fadnavis tweeted.<br /><br />"Spoke to police officials & local authorities and asked them to speed up the relief operations," he said.<br /><br />"We are constantly in touch with the local administration and we would leave no stone unturned in our efforts & relief operation," he said in another tweet.<br /><br />BJP MLA from Dombivili Ravindra Chavan expressed serious concern over the explosions in the MIDC and sought a permanent solution for it.<br /></p>