Incident Report

Subject:                     India Vapi - One killed, 12 hurt in factory blast

Date of Email report:   Sun 16/01/2011

Report Detail:

One person was killed and 12 others injured in a mysterious blast at a newly-operational chemical factory in Vapi GIDC early on Wednesday. The deceased is a factory worker but his identity is yet to be established. Six of the injured include fire brigade personnel, as the site is situated opposite the office of the Vapi GIDC Fire Brigade.

The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals in Vapi where their condition is reported to be critical. Authorities have approached factory inspectors and Forensic Science Laboratory officials to ascertain the exact cause of the blast. According to the Fire Brigade, a blast took place in one of the vessels where some chemical process at high temperature and pressure was under progress, at Arson Chemicals in Vapi GIDC, Phase II. The explosion tore the container apart, strewing metal pieces across the premises and the nearby area, and also split the columns and beams supporting the container.

Additional Documentation:

Ten workers were injured in a blast in a chemical factory on Wednesday in the city of Vapi in India's northwestern Gujarat state.

The blast is believed to have been caused by an increase in the temperature of the chemical reactor.

Police say ten people were injured, three serious.

Firefighters say the intensity of the blast was so great that it damaged property in a two mile radius around the factory and also damaged their equipment.

[Praveen Joshi, Fireman]: "Our browser is damaged badly and four or five fire officials have suffered major injuries. Even the doors of our fire staff residences are broken. Five or six laborers who used to work and live in the factory were injured and one motorbike rider was also injured. We don’t know if anyone is inside the factory. The blast could be from a leak, but we don’t know what the leak would be."

Vapi City is a hub of chemical industry plants and is the largest industrial area in Asia in terms of small-scale industries.