In a tragic incident, at least four workers were killed and two others sustained serious injuries after inhalation of nitrogen gas that leaked at a pharmaceutical company at Tarapur MIDC in Maharashtra's Palghar district. As per officials, the incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at Medley Pharma located in the industrial area of Boisar. The deceased have been identified as Kalpesh Raut (43), Bengali Thakur (46), Dheeraj Prajapati (31), and Kamlesh Yadav (31).
Chief of Palghar district disaster management cell, Vivekanand Kadam, said that between 2.30 pm and 3 pm, nitrogen gas in one of the units of the company leaked, affecting the staff working there. "The six workers were rushed to Shinde hospital, where four of them died around 6.15 pm. At the time of the incident, 36 workers were present in the plant," he said. The condition of the two injured persons, Rohan Shinde (35) from Boisar and Nilesh Hadal (37) from Dahanu, is critical and they are being constantly monitored in the ICU, doctors at the facility said.
Police launch probe
Local police and the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) officials visited the spot and began preliminary investigations. "A probe is underway to see if there were lapses in safety protocols in place for such processes. The exact cause will be determined after technical assessment of the nitrogen tank," another official said.
Case registered
A case has been registered and further probe is underway, a police official informed. Officials said Kalpesh Raut is a resident of Chinchani in Dahanu, while Thakur hails from Patna in Bihar. Prajapati is a resident of Shivajinagar in Bosiar's Salvad area. Yadav hails from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.
(With inputs from PTI)
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