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Six killed, 22 injured in dairy explosion

Himanshu Kaushik & Pramod Panwar, TNN | Sep 4, 2011, 07.43AM IST

MEHSANA/AHMEDABAD: Six people were killed and 22 others received serious burn injuries

when a huge explosion took place in the Dudhsagar Dairy at Mehsana on Saturday at 1.30pm.

The blast resulted in a huge fire and caused massive damage to the milk processing unit.

Dudhsagar is the second largest dairy cooperative in Gujarat and one of India's biggest, known

for its brand Sagar with an annual turnover of Rs 2,200 crore.

Authorities fear that death toll may go up as many of the victims have received serious burn

injuries and there may be people trapped in the rubble.

Sources said the dairy's management has been seriously hit as two senior managers, heading the

production and quality control departments, are badly injured. Another two managers, heading

the engineering and purchase departments, are missing since the accident.

Officials initially said a spark in one of the boilers had led to the accident. However , senior

government officers involved in the rescue operation said the intensity was not that of the boiler

blast. There was a possibility that ammonia kept in one of the storage facilities had caught fire

resulting in the accident. All the victims were working close to the blast site.

Additional collector R K Patel said, "Five bodies were brought for post mortem while 16 injured

have been admitted to different hospitals in Mehsana. Another six critical cases have beenreferred to Ahmedabad . A large quantity of butter, ghee and milk powder was gutted in the fire.

"I have not heard of an incident of this magnitude in 30 years," said Gujarat Cooperative Milk

Marketing Federation's (GCMMF) managing director R S Sodhi. Mother Dairy, Gandhinagar

and neighouring Banas Dairy are helping out to ensure milk supply is not hit. "From both places,

we will ensure that supply is regular in the region," Sodhi said.

Shops and homes within one km of the plant were shaken by the intensity of the blast.

Dharmedra Patel, who owns a shop near the plant said, "My shop is 800 metres from the

explosion site. Everything started shaking in the blast. I thought terrorists had attacked the town.

When I came out of the shop I saw the milk plant in flames."

The mishap will hit the milk supply via train to Delhi, Jaipur and other places in north India. It

will take at least 10 days to restore operations back to normal.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-04/ahmedabad/30112213_1_milk-supply-

banas-dairy-boiler-blast

http://thecomingcrisis.blogspot.com/2011/09/six-killed-22-injured-in-dairy.html