A deafening blast accompanied by a huge fire at a chemical factory in Panchmahals district snuffed out three lives and left 15 other workers injured, two of them critically, on Thursday morning.
The impact of the blast that occurred at Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (GFL) in Ranjitnagar locality in Ghoghamba town of Panchmahals district could be heard in a 10-km radius, officials said.
Panchmahals District Collector Sujal Mayatra confirmed that, “Three workers were killed in the incident and there is no other casualty. The fire was doused after several hours and we have cleared the factory building.”
He said two out of 15 workers who were burnt sustained 50% and 70% burns. The worker with 70% burns had also fractured his leg and was referred him to SSG Hospital in Vadodara.
Mayatra said a team of experts from Godhra and Vadodara were investigating the cause of the blast.
Earlier, an official communique from Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s office confirmed that the chief minister was in live contact with the district administration and ensured the injured were treated in time.
Sources in Godhra, the district headquarters of Panchmahals, said fire tenders from nearby towns of Godhra, Haalol and Kaalol rushed to the spot.
The injured workers were rushed to a referral hospital and a private facility in Haalol town. After cordoning off an area of 5 km around the chemical factory because of the toxic gases in the air, the District Collector and District Superintendent of Police Leena Patil, along with a team of senior district officials were supervising the rescue operations.
