1 Killed, 9 Injured In Major Blast At MRPL Plant In Mangaluru; Nearby Areas Feel Tremors

Bengaluru, Sep 30: In a major explosion that took place in Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) at Jokatte in Mangaluru on Wednesday afternoon, one worker was killed and nine others sustained injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Manish (30) and the injured are being treated at Srinivasa and MRPL hospitals.

Blast impact across Mangaluru

The magnitude of the blast was so high that the tremors could be felt in the villages around 15 kms away from the site. The houses, schools and places of worship at Jokatte developed cracks, and window panes of several buildings in neighbouring Kavoor, Surathkal and Panambur were shattered.

Thick smoke and huge fire could be seen from kilometres away, when firefighters and ambulances rushed to the MRPL unit. The fire was brought under control after two hours.

MLA highlights narrow escape

According to local MLA Bharat Shetty, who visited the spot, the situation could have been grave if the blast had taken place some other time. ``Every day, the shift changes between 12 noon and 12.30 pm. The blast took place at around 12.15 pm, when most of the first shift workers had gone out and the second shift workers were yet to come inside. Only a handful of workers were still inside the plant, who got injured in the blast,'' he said.

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MRPL explains cause of blast

According to MRPL officials, the blast had taken place in Unit 3 the MRPL plant, where the gas refilling takes place. Suddenly, there was a blast in the Nitro Sulphate treatment boiler. Since only 10 people were inside the particular area, rest were saved.

Usually, more than hundred people will be working around the same boiler.