Massive fire breaks out at UPL plant in Gujarat’s Bharuch, 26 injured and 2 fatalities confirmed

A major blast shook Gujarat’s Bharuch district in the early hours of Tuesday. The explosion resulted in a massive fire at United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) company’s plant at Jhagadia unit. At least, 26 people have been injured in the incident and so far 2 fatalities has been confirmed, said reports. 

It is being told that the incident happened around 2 am in the morning, all the injured have been admitted to the hospital. Currently, the cause of the incident has not been known. Firemen are trying to control and douse the fire. 

As per the report, “The plant was in shutdown state. Our emergency response team and local fire brigade have already brought the fire under control. 21 people have received treatment at the local hospital and 13 are already discharged with minor treatment. We thank the local administration and fire brigade for their timely support.”

The explosion was so tremendous that its sound was heard at say 15 kilometers away from the site. Due to the explosion, people living in the surrounding village felt like an earthquake, following which some people even ran come out of their homes. 

Jhagadia GIDC UPL Explosion on 23-2-2021 - YouTube

The explosion may influence the production of Glufosinate and Clethodim:

The facility in Jhagadia is fully automated and DCS controlled, including the latest process technologies in the chemical industry. The Jhagadia facility will support the production of Clethodim, one of the largest selective post-emergence herbicides in the world used to control annual and perennial grasses in a wide variety of crops. Clethodim was brought into the UPL product portfolio through the acquisition of Arysta LifeScience; after only 20 months post-integration, the company’s vision of expanding its in-house production capabilities has become a reality.

“The addition of the Jhagadia facility to our global manufacturing site network demonstrates UPL’s ability to act quickly and with agility in order to provide agriculture solutions that address farmer pain points,” says Diego Lopez Casanello, Global Chief Operating Officer of UPL. 

The development of Clethodim was driven with the objective to safely provide global solutions that strengthen farmer resiliency and meet increased demand requirements primarily due to weed resistance against the commonly used herbicide, Glyphosate. This investment significantly improves UPL’s competitive position and strengthens its market leadership in this key molecule.

Besides, UPL also converted the process waste of Pendimethalin and Glufosinate plant into sellable by-products in Jhagadia Unit 5. The Jhagadia facility is the largest manufacturing site with a cumulative capacity of 240,000 metric tonnes per annum.