Dying mother shields 15-month-old girl from factory blast

Krishna with his 15-month-old daughter

A sudden blast at a chemical factory inside Arkose Industrial Estate, Dheku village, Khopoli, in the wee hours of Thursday, has left two people dead and eight others injured. A 32-year-old woman, residing with her family on a plot adjacent to the factory, lost her life as she tried to run with her daughter in her arms just when the blast happened. A few splinters pierced her face and head, and she died on the spot, but the 15-month-old baby escaped with minor injuries.

Vaishnavi alias Sapna Neupane, lived with her husband Krishna (who worked as a security guard), and three children - Aarti, 11, Aashish, 9, and Kirti (15 months old), in a shelter on plot no. 25, just next to the chemical factory on plot no. 26. The couple originally hails from Nepal.

Vaishali Pardeshi Thakur, sub-divisional officer, Karjat said, "Two died and eight people were injured in the incident." While the firefighting operation continued till early morning, the injured children and their father were in hospital completing the formalities to claim Vaishnavi's mortal remains.

Cooling operations underway at the blast site

Preliminary enquiries by the district administration have revealed that some locals were complaining of eye irritation and breathing difficulties on Wednesday evening, which was suspected to be due to gas leak from the factory, owned by M/s Jashnova Pharmaceutical & Speciality Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. Two on-duty workers suspected that something was wrong. When they restarted the reactor, they could smell gas. Around 2.45 am, they saw smoke coming out from the reactor. They immediately ran to the adjacent plot and alerted the family. Soon after the blast happened and the fire spread to the nearby factories.

Keshav Kendre, deputy director, Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, said, "Preliminary inquiry revealed that the factory was not registered under The Factories Act of 1948 and the department had no registration details about the same. The company was operational since December 2019. We have learnt that the said company had taken up a project for another chemical company based in Ambernath. We have also found raw materials like allyl alcohol, dimethylamine gas and caustic soda, which were being used to make 3-dimethylamino-1-propanol."

The blast at the chemical factory in Khopoli took place in the wee hours of Thursday

He further added, "After some locals complained of eye irritation and breathlessness, the matter was brought to the notice of the factory staff, who consulted the owner and switched off the reactor for a few hours, before it was allegedly restarted late
in the night."

Kendre added, "The incident happened around 3 am, and the impact of the blast was such that the reactor parts blew almost 300 to 400 meters away from the factory. Also, some of the structures in the adjacent units got damaged."

Food and clothes

Thakur further said, "We could only provide some clothes and food to the family as they have lost everything in the blast." Another officer said, "The presence of mind of the two workers helped save the lives of the other family members." When asked about compensation, Thakur said, "Since the incident happened on a private premises, the government does not have any compensation scheme for it."

Krishna, Vaishnavi's husband, at their damaged house

Dr Nikeita Kothari, consulting medical officer at Khopoli Municipal Council Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital said, "The police brought the injured by 3.15 am. Out of the eight injured people, seven had sustained minor injuries, and a woman was brought dead. She had serious facial and head injuries."

Also Read: Two killed, one injured in Maharashtra steel factory blast

'Trying to trace owner'

Police inspector D B Shirsagar of Khopoli police station said, "Prima-facie it seems to be an act of negligence. We are yet to trace the company owner and once we record his statement, more details can be extracted. We are also verifying if the factory had required licenses and permission. We have registered a case of accidental death under section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code and our investigation is underway. Penal provisions will be levied as the investigation progresses and we are able to ascertain the reason for the blast and subsequent fire."

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