Blast at sanitizer, handwash factory in Maharashtra's Palghar, 2 dead

Mumbai: At least two workers were killed and one was injured in a blast at the chemical factory in Maharashtra's Palghar on Monday (April 13). The incident occurred at the Tarapur-located company at around 12:30 pm today.

As per the report, the blast took place at one of the units that was involved in making handwash and sanitizers. The production work at the company was carried out after taking approval from Palghar Collector Kailash Shinde. 

The mishap took place around 12 noon in the premises of Galaxy Surfactants, located in the Boisar industrial area, district disaster control cell chief Vivekananda Kadam told PTI. "Two workers were killed and one was seriously injured," Kadam said. 

Some locals said they heard a loud sound from the unit around noon. The injured worker was rushed to hospital, Kadam said. On getting information about the mishap, a couple of fire engines rushed to the spot and efforts were underway to douse the flames. "The cause of the explosion was not immediately known," Kadam said.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, there has been a vast demand for handwash and sanitizers following which several companies have started manufacturing these products. 

In the meantime, 82 more cases of coronavirus were reported in Maharashtra on April 13, taking the total number of the positive cases in the state to 2064.

According to Maharashtra Health Department, out of the 82 new cases of COVID-19, three are from Pune, 59 from Mumbai, 12 from Malegaon, five from Thane, one from Vasai Virar, and two from Palghar.