Bhopal: At least one person has reportedly died while another six workers injured in a factory blast in Special Blast Limited in the village of Borsi in Bemetara district, Chhattisgarh, around 8 am on Saturday, some 80 km from Raipur.
The injured were rushed to the capital city Raipur hospital for treatment. One section of the factory, engaged in the production of liquid explosives, was reduced to a pile of rubble in the blast. The sound of the blast reportedly was heard even from the far distance about 10 to 20 km, informed local sources.
The rescue and relief work, along with the clearing of debris, is still under way. Deputy CM Arun Sao also visited the factory to take stock of the situation there. While expressing his grief over the incident, Sao has announced a magisterial probe into the incident.
All the details about the incident, including the number of casualties and the cause of the blast, will only be known after the debris clearance work is over. Sao told reporters that ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh will be provided to the every one of the deceased's family members. In addition, Rs 50,000 will be given to each person injured in the blast.
CM Vishnu Deo Sai in his X account has expressed grief over the unfortunate incident and assured the victims of all possible help. Former CM Bhupesh Baghel in his post said he was shocked to learn the loss of 10 to 12 lives in the Bemetara factory blast.
In what proved to be a silver lining was the fact that the casualties could have been much higher if the accident had happened during regular shift hours.
According to the information available, there are around 200 to 250 workers on the production line in a regular shift. But luckily on Saturday morning, when the accident took place, only a dozen were present following the shift change.
The factory, established some 25 years ago, consists of three units and is spread over 40 acres. Each individual unit is built over an area measuring approx. 50,000 sq feet each. Prima facie cause of the explosion was reportedly due to leakage in one of the tanks (15,000-liter capacity) filled with explosive liquid.
A nearby fire source triggered the major explosion in one of the units. Meanwhile, the remaining 2 units, including the tanks filled with liquid explosive stored within, are intact and remain undamaged, barring minor material damage. Factory workers reportedly claimed that the number of actual casualties would be more than the official figure.
Sources disclosed that the deceased was identified as Sewak Ram Sahu (50). Those injured included Ravi Kumar Kurke (26), Neeraj Yadav (25), Chandan Kumar (27), Manohar Yadav (26), Indra Kumar Raghuvanshi (26), and Dilip Dhruv (47). CMO Dr Jyoti said the condition of the injured was stable and all vital organs were functioning properly.