Navi Mumbai: Three people lost their lives and three others were injured in a blast at Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) Limited factory, in Thal, Raigad district, on Wednesday evening.
According to Raigad superintendent of police, Somnath Gharge, an air conditioner was being installed in the control room of the factory, when the compressor blew up. “Among the dead, one was an employee of RCF and two others belonged to the third-party contractor, employed to install the machine,” said Gharge.
The deceased have been identified as Dilshad Alam Idrisi (29) and Faizan Shaikh (33), both residents of Kurla and employees of third-party contractor. The third deceased was identified as Ankit Sharma (27), a trainee at RCF.
The three injured are Atindra Manoj (28), Jitendra Shelke (33) and Sajid Siddique Salamati (23); all of them employees of the contractor.
Pramod Deshmukh, senior manager (corporate communications) of RCF confirmed the facts shared by the police. Deshmukh released a statement on behalf of the company, which read: “The work was undertaken by Ms Areezo Global firm. The victims were immediately taken to RCF Hospital, in Alibaug, where three were declared dead. The injured have been shifted to a hospital in Mumbai. The exact cause of the blast is not yet known, and the further enquiry is on.”
Meanwhile, a source from the RCF said that there is speculation that the contractual employees filled the wrong gas which led to the blast when the compressor was switched on.