The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) in Maharashtra’s Thane district has appealed to citizens to contact one of its civic hospitals if any of their family members are missing after the recent chemical factory blast.

A boiler blast and the resultant fire in the factory of Amudan Chemicals, located in Phase 2 of Dombivli MIDC, on Thursday killed nine persons and injured over 60.

KDMC said in a release that a helpdesk has been set up at the civic-run Shastri Nagar hospital and citizens can get in touch with it on 0251-2481073/2495338.

Officials said it is difficult to find out the exact number of people who died in the blast as body parts have been recovered from the site. Only DNA tests can establish the count, they said.

According to the KDMC release, 68 people were injured in the accident of whom 42 have been discharged. The remaining 26 patients are admitted to different hospitals in the area and 12 of them are in the ICU, it said.

All the patients are stable now, the release said.

A total of 12 firefighters and 52 water tankers were used in the firefighting operation at the factory and in its vicinity on Thursday, the release said, adding that the debris and solid waste from the site are being sent to Taloja for processing.

A boiler exploded at the factory on Thursday afternoon and the impact of the blast and the resultant blaze affected adjacent factories and houses, according to officials.

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