Explosion at Chemical Plant in India Kills Two

An explosion killed two workers and injured one other at a chemical plant in Boisar, India, about noon Monday, local media reports.

The blast occurred at Galaxy Surfactants Ltd., a chemical company specializing in surfactants used in detergents and other products. Firefighters with the Tarapur MIDC fire brigade arriving at the scene immediately commenced cooling and search operations, The Times of India reports.

Raw materials were being added to a process vessel known as a reactor at the time of the explosion.

Boisar is the largest industrial suburb serving India’s largest city, Mumbai. However, most of the factories neighboring Galaxy were shut down due to the pandemic.

Galaxy, designated an essential industry, had been granted permission to resume operations Monday. Normal staffing had been scaled back form 250 workers to 105.