At least five persons were injured, some of them seriously, in an explosion in a firecracker factory at Dahanu in Palghar district on Thursday morning, an official said.
The incident took place at Dehne village around 11 am, said chief of the District Disaster Cell Vivekanand Kadam. The explosion was followed by a fire, he said.
The area is over 125 km away from Mumbai.
Fire engines from Dahanu and surrounding industrial areas were rushed to the spot, Kadam said.
Four of the injured were admitted to a hospital in Dahanu and another at a hospital in Vapi.
Local MLA Vinod Nikole claimed that more persons have been injured as around 100 workers were inside the factory at the time of the incident.
Sparks from welding work might have triggered the blast, he said.
Tehesildar Rahul Sarang along with senior police officers reached the spot after learning about the incident to supervise the rescue operation.
