India: Six killed in blasts and fire at Gharda Chemicals

At least six persons were killed in blasts and fire at Gharda Chemicals in Ratnagiri's Lote MIDC area.

The incident took place at Gharda Chemicals early morning on Saturday. Six people died after suffering severe burn injuries.

Around 40 to 50 people were also stuck inside the company, however, they were rescued by the team of fire brigade personnel.

While the injured have been rushed to the nearby civil hospital, severe patients are being shifted to Mumbai.

The reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained. However, it is said that the accident took place due to the explosion of the boiler.

The fire has been brought under control and cooling operations are underway. According to reports, this is said to be the sixth such incident in the MIDC area.

"Due to the confined nature of the fire, there was no major damage to the plant and we hope to start this plant within a month. While we continually assess the risks due to fire safety issues, we shall implement further risk mitigation measures and shall not spare any efforts to mitigate risks to human lives. We deeply value your support during these trying times and thank you for the concern. We also confirm that supplies of triclopyr, fipronil, chlorpyriphos, cypermethrin, dicamba, deltamethrin, alpha cypermethrin, quinalphos, and all other products remain unaffected."