Seven workers killed in Surat chemical factory blast, 27 injured

Out of the seven persons found dead at the chemical manufacturing unit of Aether Industries Ltd in Sachin industrial area of the city, one was an employee of the company while six others were working on contract, Surat Collector Ayush Oak said.

Ahmedabad: Seven workers who had gone missing in the fire following a massive blast in a chemical factory were found dead Thursday morning, police said. The workers had been trapped in the fire last night following a blast in a chemical manufacturing unit of Aether Industries located at Sachin GIDC, an industrial area in Surat.

Police said that all six bodies were recovered on Thursday morning and a case of accidental death has been registered. An officer said that further action will be taken after receiving forensic reports. The fire erupted at the Aether industry’s chemical manufacturing unit. 27 others have suffered burn injuries, out of whom three are said to have sustained severe burns.

The deceased have been identified as Divyesh Patel, Santosh Vishwakarma, Sanath Mishra, Dharmendra Kumar, Ganesh Prasad, Sunil Kumar and Abhishek Singh.

The company has announced compensation upto Rs 10 lakh in addition to the compensation amount payable as per the rules. Those injured in this incident have been taken to various hospitals including Sanjivani, Apple and Maitri hospitals.

Among 7 missing labourers, one was a direct employee of Aether. Divyeshkumar Patel was from the company's production team while 6 others were working for a contractor.

Officials said fire erupted at around 2 am after a massive explosion in a chemical storage tank containing tetrahydrofuran, a highly flammable chemical substance. Aether Industries describes itself as a producer of "advanced intermediates and speciality chemicals involving complex and differentiated chemistry and technology core competencies."

Its products are used in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, material science, coating, high performance photography, additive, and oil and gas segments of the chemical industry.

Following the incident, the Industrial Safety department has served a closure notice to the company.