Three workers were killed and five sustained injuries in an explosion at the Trombay unit of the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF) on Saturday.
According to officials, the blast occurred at around 4:30 p.m. in a boiler inside the factory that was shut down for inspection. The explosion resulted in a fire that was brought under control in a short while.
Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe said maintenance work was under way on the boiler when the blast occurred.
The RCF police rushed in a team as soon as they were informed about the blast. “There were three fatalities of contract workers. Those who were injured are being treated at the hospital on the RCF premises,” an RCF spokesperson said.
The deceased have been identified as Govind Kumar, Mehmood Noor Mohammed and Dilip Pawar, while the injured people have been identified as Sayyed Sadiq, Jaishankar Sharma, Rahul Shinde, Shashikant Dalvi and Ravindra Kamble.
Sadiq and Sharma are workers, while Shinde is a technician, Dalvi a senior energy operator, and Kamble is a senior engineer with the RCF. The workers are daily-wage labourers staying in Chembur and nearby areas, and were hired on a contract basis for maintenance work.
“Investigations are on to find out the cause behind the explosion. The two adjacent boilers have not suffered any damage and all other plants are safe and operational,” the RCF spokesperson said. The RCF police are currently recording statements of officials concerned.
“No case has been registered. Our personnel are conducting inquiries,” Mr. Dudhe said. The RCF Ltd is a Central government undertaking, which manufactures industrial chemicals and fertilisers. It has two units: one in Mumbai and the other in Raigad.
