Blast at Nagpur aluminium plant kills 5, injures 10 in massive fire outbreak
The explosion occurred in the polished tubing unit of the MMP Limited, where 87 workers were present at the time. As of noon, the fire had not been fully controlled
Nagpur: At least five workers were charred to death, and 10 others sustained severe burn injuries after a fire broke out due to an explosion in an aluminium industry on Friday night in the Umred MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) area, around 60 kmfrom Nagpur, a senior police officer said.
Around ten fire brigades were used to douse the flames which took 15 to 16 hours. The explosion occurred in the polished tubing unit of the MMP Limited, where 87 workers were present at the time, superintendent of police (SP) Harsh Poddar said.
The explosion ignited a massive fire while workers were operating a machine used to polish aluminium foil with raw aluminium powder, the Nagpur district collector Vipin Itankar, who visited the blast site, said, adding that authorities are investigating the cause behind the explosion.
Chairman-cum-managing director Arun Bhandari confirmed the injured were taken to local and government hospitals.
Two workers died while receiving treatment at a hospital, while bodies of three workers were recovered on Saturday morning from the factory premises,tahsildar (a government official under district collector) of Umred Manohar Chavan said.
The deceased were identified as Nikhil Nihare (24), Nikhil Shende (25), Abhishek Jangad (20), Piyus Vasudeo Durge (21), and Sachin Purushottam Masram (26). Among the injured, seven are reported to be in critical condition.
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Witnesses recalled flames erupting moments after the blast, forcing workers to flee for safety. Authorities have sealed off the area and barred access to the factory premises.
Local police and fire department units initiated a rescue operation. The injured were taken to the government-run medical college and hospital in Nagpur, where two victims died in that morning.
The highly flammable nature of the aluminium powder intensified the blaze, making it difficult for fire fighters to control the flames, SP Poddar said.
The aluminium powder used in the factory is also supplied to commercial explosives manufacturing units in Nagpur for the mining sector.
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This incident marks the second industrial explosion in the region this year, following a tragic blast at the Bhandara ordnance factory that claimed eight lives just a couple of months ago.
The MMP Limited began operations just before the pandemic but paused during the lockdown. It also runs a plant in Butibori for auto components and another in Bhandara producing aluminium products for ordnance factories in Madhya Pradesh, though defence supply forms only a small part of its output.
