The incident triggered protests, with locals alleging delay in arrival of police and attacking the force. They also torched a police vehicle.
Prima facie, a leaking chemical from a barrel triggered fire which led to serial explosions in the factory in Waghadi village in Shirpur taluka around 9:45 am.
Incessant showers caused landslides and floods in various parts of the country leaving at least 17 people dead on Wednesday while thousands more were forced to move to safety as rivers swelled and water reservoirs filled up fast.
The Seismological department said that the quake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale and lasted for about two minutes.
Naim Sheikh, who knew how to swim managed to save, with the help of his friends, about 50-60 people, even though, he himself was also injured in the incident.
With the threat of disease outbreak lurking in flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir, efforts have been initiated on a war-footing to provide medical staff and medicines even as rescue operations were slightly hampered on Sunday due to return of rains in the Valley.
State pegs total loss due to rains at Rs 8,481 crore.
1 person died in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia district each taking the toll in current phase of floods to 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over phone and discussed about the prevailing condition on Monday.
No lives were lost after cyclone Biparjoy made landfall. Preparations for Biparjoy were not only extensive, they were also telecast far and wide. Ahead of the cyclone's landfall, Shyam G Menon observes there was considerable publicity on how much the government was geared up to face the storm and its aftermath.
The Centre on Sunday assured all help and assistance to Bihar for rescue and relief in the wake of emerging situation due to overflow in Kosi following a landslide in Nepal creating an artificial dam on the river and triggering possibility of floods.
West Bengal and Odisha have evacuated lakhs of people from vulnerable areas to safety as severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas' is nearing the coast and is expected to make landfall near Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district early on Wednesday morning.
The Ganga has crossed the danger mark in West Bengal, Bihar and neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh where Yamuna river is also in spate, while heavy rainfall has created a flood-like situation in some parts of Rajasthan where six persons have died so far.
The district magistrate said that a central team will survey the damage to properties due to the land subsidence and suggest a way forward while coordinating with the local administration in relief and rescue efforts.
Personnel of NDRF, Fire, Forest and police departments have expanded their search operations to the downstream of a river in their efforts to trace 19 more people who were still missing in the August 7 tragedy near Rajamala.
The government has asked the general public to call toll free numbers 1070 and 1077 during emergency situations .
'The prime minister expressed concern and assured all possible help to the state,' CMO said.
The India Meteorological Department said rainfall would be accompanied by gale wind speed reaching 140 to 150 kmph and gusting to 165 kmph along and off Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
As many as 48 persons were injured in these incidents and 25 still missing, while so far, 2,29,074 persons have been evacuated from the flood and rain-affected affected areas and moved to safer places, the government said in a statement in Mumbai.
Figures showed that the worst-hit was Mirpur with 24 dead, nine in Jatlan and one person lost his life in Jhelum.
A 13.2 MW small hydro project on the Rishiganga river was swept away in the glacier burst in Uttarakhand on Sunday, but there is no danger of floods in the downstream areas as the water level has been contained.
A high-powered submersible pump from Coal India Ltd will be put into operation on Thursday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray through video conference and took stock of the state's preparedness to tackle any eventuality, the latter's office said. 10 units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in vulnerable districts, while six others have been kept on a stand-by, officials said.
The cyclone lay about 720 km east northeast of Chennai over the Bay on Monday and it is very likely to move west southwestwards and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday.
The minister, who made an aerial survey of badly affected areas in Idukki and Ernakulam districts, said the rains and floods had caused 'massive damage' to the farm sector and infrastructure like roads and power.
Parts of Raigad, Ratnagiri districts in the coastal Konkan region and Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, have been worst affected by the floods. Besides that, heavy rains have been pounding parts of Satara district.
Nearly 6,000 passengers were stranded as train services on the Konkan Railway route in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district were suspended on Thursday after a river overflowed following heavy rains, while incessant downpour badly hit road and rail traffic in several parts of the state, including around Mumbai, as authorities called in NDRF to help the administration in rescue efforts.
With cyclone Phailin expected to make landfall in Odisha on Saturday, the state government mounted a massive operation to evacuate two lakh people from six coastal districts on Friday night
Thousands of people in Darbhanga, West Champaran and Nalanda districts in Bihar have been affected by floods after rivers flowing through these districts breached their embankments. Floods occurred in Darbhanga and West Champaran districts after breaches developed in the embankments of Kamla Balan and Gandak rivers respectively, while in Nalanda it was due to the overflowing of Panchane river.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the victims
The two western states, already battling a raging pandemic, which has put their health infrastructure under severe strain, opened new fronts to tackle the fallout of the storm which is expected to make a landfall close to Mumbai on Wednesday. They are likely to be impacted most by the cyclone.
"This is our most massive deployment in any flood disaster till date. Now we have close to 1,600 personnel with 21 officers and 200 rubberised inflatable boats. We have rescued over 16,000 people to safer locations till now," the DG said.
An injured soldier told reporters from the hospital that when the building collapsed, there were 35 army personnel inside it, of whom 30 were Junior Commissioned Officers and five were soldiers.
National Disaster Response Force personnel left the spot, while State Disaster Management Department personnel continued their rescue work at the accident site with cranes, earth movers and drilling machines.
Six teams of the National Disaster Response Force are being deployed in four coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh as cyclonic storm 'Helen' is expected to cross the Bay of Bengal coast near Kavali on Thursday evening.
The flood situation eased in Assam and northern districts of West Bengal with water receding and no fresh deaths being reported in both the states.
The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a warning about havoc rainfall or a cloud burst hitting Bihar's flood-affected districts in the next 24 to 48 hours, officials said on Sunday.
The state government has declared a holiday on Wednesday and Thursday for all private institutions, offices, non-essential services within Outer Ring Road here in view of rains.
Heavy rains pounded south and central Kerala on Saturday wreaking havoc in many parts with some people feared missing in the landslides that occurred in hilly areas bordering Kottayam and Idukki districts prompting the state government to seek the assistance of the Army and Air Force for rescue operations.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances