Six workers were killed in a blast which triggered a fire in a chemical factory in Gujarat's Bharuch district on Monday, officials said. The incident took place around 3 am in the unit located in Dahej industrial area, some 235 km from Ahmedabad.

The six victims were working near a reactor, which suddenly blew off during solvent distillation process, Bharuch Superintendent of Police Leena Patil said.

"The blast in the reactor caused a fire in the factory. All the six persons working near the reactor died. The bodies were later recovered and sent for postmortem. The fire was also brought under control," she said.

No one else was injured in the incident, the official said.