A slew of inquiries by various agencies are being held into the explosion at the factory of Nitta Gelatin Pvt Limited on Kinfra campus at Edachira, near Kakkanad, in Kerala on Tuesday night.
The incident had claimed the life of a worker from Mohali in Punjab and injured four others, including two migrant workers. The blast occurred on a pile of empty cans with a loud thud.
Apart from inquiries by the police and an internal inquiry of the company, examinations were under way by the controller of explosives, factories and boilers, and Hindusthan Chemicals since chemicals were suspected to be involved.
“We are awaiting chemical analysis report of samples collected from the blast site from the forensic lab here. Currently, we have registered a case of unnatural death. Only after receiving the chemical analysis report can we decide whether more sections need to be invoked,” said P.V. Baby, Assistant Commissioner, Thrikkakara. Samples were collected from the site the day after the blast.
The police are also looking into the possibility of negligence leading to the blast, and shortcomings, if any, in the storage of the cans. After making a holistic assessment, the police will issue a set of guidelines to avert such incidents in the future.
According to the police, the worker killed and those injured were in close proximity of the blast site as they were collecting the cans, filling it with hydrochloric acid and diluting it with water for washing purposes, which was reportedly a regular affair once in two or three weeks.
The internal inquiry of the company is also under way. “We will have to look into the forensic report and get the statements of the two of the injured who could not yet be approached before we could conclude our inquiry,” said company sources.
