Eight workers were killed and 50 others were injured on Wednesday in a massive fire triggered by a blast in the boiler of a chemical factory at Dahej in Gujarat's Bharuch district.
The death toll may rise further as some of the injured workers are in a serious condition, according to police.
As companies of methanol and xylene chemicals are located near the affected factory, authorities have shifted about 4,800 people from nearby Luvara and Lakhigam villages to safer places as a precautionary measure.
About 230 workers were present inside the factory, Yashaswi Rasayan Pvt Ltd, located in Dahej Special Economic Zone-1, 42 kms from Bharuch, at the time of the incident in afternoon, they said.
"Eight workers died in the boiler blast at the chemical factory located in Dahej Special Economic Zone-1, while around 50 others sustained injuries," said Dahej Marine police station inspector Vipul Gagiya.
While six charred bodies were recovered from the factory after the fire was doused, two more workers died at separate hospitals in Bharuch, he said.
"32 injured workers are admitted in various hospitals in Bharuch and nearby areas," he said, adding that the death toll may go up as some of the workers are in a serious condition.
About 18-20 workers were given a primary aid, local officials said.
It took about six hours for eleven fire tenders to bring the massive blaze under control, officials said.
This is the second industrial accident in India in less than a month. On May 7, 2020, styrene gas leaked from the LG Polymers chemical plant in RR Venkatapuram village near Gopalapatnam on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
