Gujarat closure notice to UPL's Jhagadia plant after fire leaves two dead

In the aftermath of a late night blast and fire at UPL-5 unit leading to two deaths and 20 being injured as well as five persons missing, the Gujarat government on Tuesday issued a closure notice to UPL Ltd's agrochemical plant at Jhagadia near Bharuch.

The state's labour and employment department on Tuesday issued the closure notice to UPL Ltd (erstwhile United Phosphorus Ltd) after a blast and major fire. The fire had erupted after a blast in the factory in the early hours of Tuesday.

Around 20 persons are injured apart from two fatalities and five labourers missing, according to local reports. Injured laborers were sent to Surat and Vadodara Hospitals.

"Following the incident, officers of the Director Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), which functions under the Labour and Employment department rushed immediately in the early morning and issued a closure order to United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) company’s plant at Jhagadia unit," the department stated on Tuesday.

"We have issued a closure order to the facility so that more lives are not put at risk. We will review the safety aspects," P M Shah, Director DISH said.

Reiterating safety as a priority in industries, additional chief secretary - labour and employment Vipul Mittra said that the company has been directed to pay ex-gratia compensation of each to the next of kin of the deceased workers.

According to sources, while the closure notice applies immediately, the actual shutdown process may happen gradually in a bid to avoid any other incident occurring due to sudden shutdown of a chemical unit.

Reason for the blast and fire is being investigated, said government officials.