Five killed in Gujarat chemical plant blast; operations suspended

Five workers were killed and five others injured after an explosion ripped through a chemical manufacturing unit in Gujarat’s Bharuch district late on Friday night, officials said on Saturday.

The blast occurred around 10 pm during a hydrogenation process at SynZeal Pharmachem in the Saykha GIDC area of Vagra taluka, triggering a toxic leak of methylene dichloride (MDC) gas, according to PTI (Business Standard, Hindustan Times, The Hindu).

The explosion was so powerful it ripped apart the reactor tank, scattering machinery parts across the premises, Bharuch Sub-Divisional Magistrate Manisha Manani said. The plant, which manufactures pharma intermediaries, was set up in Saykha only a year ago.

Superintendent of Police Akshyaraj Makwana told PTI the five deceased were Jaydeep Maheshbhai Patel and Bhavik Dilipkumar Vasava of Amod, Vrund Talaviya of Talala, and Uttar Pradesh natives Aniket Harilal Gautam and Arjunkumar Ramsingh Gautam. The five injured workers, from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, are undergoing treatment.

The Bharuch district administration has ordered the company to suspend operations with immediate effect, and the injured are reported to be in critical condition (Indian Express). Officials of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health and the police have begun an investigation into the cause.