There was a massive explosion inside the warehouse of an abandoned aluminum factory 'Specific Alloys Private Limited' near Seru village on Alandi and Markal roads in Khed taluka around 5pm on Thursday.2 people present at the spot One person was killed and six injured.
One of the deceased was identified as Basabraj Tamara Bansode (50).
According to Pimpri-Chinchwad fire brigade officials, the factory had been closed for the past four years. The intensity of the explosion sent a huge fireball into the air, killing two people and injuring six people on the road.
The injured have been confirmed as Abdul Saleem Khan, Dinesh Ramkisan Maurya, Ramchandra Maruti Nimbalkar, Santosh Trimbak Mane and two others.
The victims were admitted to a nearby hospital and are reported to be in stable condition. According to fire brigade officials, eight motorcycles and three residences were damaged in the explosion.
Eight people sustained burn injuries, two of whom later died, officials said, adding that the injured were taken to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune city for treatment.
Initial media reports attributed the explosion to a distribution transformer located near a decommissioned metal unit on the outskirts of the village. However, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) authorities refuted the claim late in the evening.
The power company said in a release that information that an explosion in a distribution transformer caused a house fire in Sol village near Alandi is false. Officials said power supply from distribution transformers has been interrupted since the past six months due to non-payment of electricity bills.
After the explosion, MSEDCL deputy executive engineer (Chakan sub-division) Vijay Gurgot and assistant engineer Sandeep Kulhade rushed to the spot and inspected the power system of Sol.
Officials confirmed that the 63 KVA generator was intact and no fire incident occurred. Officials said the explosion at the factory caused part of the transformer's fence wall to cave in and left minor damage to the distribution box.
“Preliminary investigations conducted at the scene have determined that there is no connection between the MSEDCL transformer and the factory accident,” the release said.
Meanwhile, on December 8 last year, a fire broke out at an illegal sparkling candle manufacturing facility in Tarawade, Pimpri-Chinchwad, killing 14 people and injuring one. On December 28 last year, 19 workers were injured, four of them seriously, in a fire following an explosion at an auto parts powder coating unit at Tirumala Industrial Estate in Hinjewadi Phase 1.
