Palghar: Three workers injured in fire at industrial unit

Image used for representational purpose

Three workers were injured after a "major" fire broke out at an industrial unit in Maharashtra's Palghar district, fire officials said on Tuesday, news agency PTI reported.

The blaze erupted at around 9.30 pm on Monday in the unit located in the Tarapur Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area in suburban Boisar, fire officer Vaibhav Tandel told PTI.

Some storage tanks containing light-density oil in the unit exploded due to the fire, he said.

The explosion triggered panic in the area, as per eyewitnesses.

Three workers were injured, including two seriously as they received about 50 per cent burns, the fire official said. All the three were undergoing treatment in hospital, he said.

Eight fire engines were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control by 1.30 am on Tuesday, the official said.
The cause of the fire was not yet known, he said.

A probe was also being conducted to ascertain if any manufacturing activity was going on in the unit at the time of the incident, the official said.

In a separate incident, earlier on June 13, in a tragic incident at Mumbai Pune Expressway, an oil tanker caught fire. Four people were killed and at least three injured a chemical-laden tanker caught fire following an accident.

The driver of the tanker died on the spot while 2 have been rushed to hospital.

Highway SP Tanaji Chikhale confirmed the incident and said, "Two persons died in the incident. The fire was so severe that traffic on both lanes have to be stopped for a few hours. Presently, the situation is under control and the Pune lane has been started now."

Meanwhile, the oil and fire dripping from the flyovers engulfed a scooty. "A woman was riding the scooty with two children. They too have been rushed to hospital as they severely got burned," he added.

The traffic has been diverted for security purposes while the Pune lane has resumed traffic.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the deaths.

(With inputs from PTI)