Blast, fire at chemical factory in India kill 3

A fire broke out at an Indian chemical factory and spread through an industrial zone, killing three people and injuring 15, police and officials said on Friday.

The fire, in the Tarapur industrial area in Maharashtra State, began late on Thursday after a boiler containing industrial solvent burst, said an official with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

"The fire spread quickly as neighboring factories were also producing chemicals. People 10 km away from the spot heard blasts," said the official, who declined to be identified.

The fire damaged six factories before it was brought under control but a few areas were still burning, said Manjunath Singe, a district police superintendent, on Twitter.

Tarapur is about 125 km north of the city of Mumbai.

The Tarapur Atomic Power Station is 20 km west of the area where the blaze occurred and was not affected by it, the MIDC official said.

(Source: Reuters)

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