By: Suhas BirhadePALGHAR: A major blast occurred at Viraj Profiles SMS, a steel manufacturing unit in the Tarapur industrial area, around 10.45am on Monday while steel was being melted in a furnace.Two workers were injured in the incident. While one is undergoing treatment at a hospital, the other, who suffered minor injuries, was given first aid and discharged.Around 100 workers were present at the plant when the incident occurred. However, a warning alarm sounded nearly two minutes before the blast, prompting the workers to rush out of the plant and averting a major tragedy.Crane operator Dharmendra Kumar Ramavadh Sharma, 45, could not evacuate in time and sustained burn injuries in the blast. He was rushed to Starlight Hospital in Boisar, where he is undergoing treatment. He has suffered around 10% burns, police said.Another worker suffered minor injuries to his leg. He was given primary treatment and discharged, said Palghar superintendent of police Yatish Deshmukh.The blast was powerful enough to affect some of the factories located near the unit. Authorities are assessing the extent of damage caused to Viraj Profiles and neighbouring industrial units.Officials from the Palghar division of the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health reached the site and conducted a preliminary inspection. A detailed technical investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the blast.
