The Hindu : National : Major fire in insecticide plant near Kochi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 07, 2004

National

National

Major fire in insecticide plant near Kochi

By Our Staff Reporter

— Photo: H. Vibhu

The gutted unit of Hindustan Insecticides Limited near Kochi.

KOCHI, JULY 6. An industrial unit producing agro-insecticides, chiefly Endosulfan, at Udyogamandal on the outskirts of this city of one million people, was gutted in a fire early today. Twenty workers who were inside the public sector Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL) plant in the `graveyard shift' rushed out following an explosion on the second floor of the five-storey building, located in a highly industrialised area.

According to plant sources, the workers heard the explosion around 2.45 a.m. Soon thereafter there was a second explosion and fire and smoke engulfed the floor. There are no casualties reported.

Fire alarms were triggered and preliminary efforts by the workers to bring the flames under control failed.

The presence of the chemical toluene caused the fire to rage for more than an hour. The fire spread from the second floor to other floors possibly through the connecting pipes and engulfed the entire building.

Local residents gathered at the company gates before the police dispersed them.

Fire engines from the nearby units of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT), Kochi Refineries, the Indian Navy and the Kerala State Fire and Rescue Service reached the spot. The fire was brought under control fully in about two-and-a-half hours. It was totally extinguished only by 5.30 a.m.

The fire is suspected to have been triggered either by an electrical short circuit or from the highly inflammable toluene.

"The actual cause of the incidence of fire could be ascertained only after investigation and an investigation is under way," said a communication from HIL.

"The extent of damage could be ascertained only after an investigation, which is under way," it added.

A team comprising officials from the Department of Factories and Boilers, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board and HIL has begun an investigation.

No estimates were immediately available of the losses suffered. The plant producing Endosulfan, the major money earner for HIL, will remain closed for at least three months as all equipment and systems have been damaged.

The Kochi unit of HIL has three other plants producing DDT, Dicofol and Mancozeb. The Endosulfan plant has an installed capacity of 1,600 tonnes a year and about 90 per cent of it is exported.

HIL's three other plants nearby were functioning on Wednesday.

The company has stepped up its emergency preparedness.

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