Maharashtra chemical factory blast kills 3, injures 15; rescue ops underway

Local eyewitnesses said the explosion, "sounding like a huge bomb" took place when many people were preparing to retire for the night

A powerful blast followed by a massive fire ripped through a private chemical manufacturing company Ramedeo chemicals in the Tarapur MIDC area of Maharashtra's Palghaer late on Thursday night, police said. According to reports, at least 3 people were killed and 15 injured in the incident that occured around 11.15 pm . Three of them are said to be in a critical condition.

"The blast, the cause of which is not yet clear, was so deafening that it was heard in a distance of 10 km, and houses and buildings were shaken," Palghar Control police official Pramod Pawar told IANS.

The blast is prima facie suspected to have occurred in a boiler room and efforts are on to douse the fire in the factory precincts.

Local eyewitnesses said that the explosion, "sounding like a huge bomb" took place when many people were preparing to retire for the night.

However, scared and shaken by the explosion, many feared it was an earthquake and hundreds rushed out on to the streets and sat there.

Further details are awaited and senior civil and police officials, besides disaster management teams, have rushed to the spot. The blaze has reportedly engulfed two nearby factories, too.

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