A fire broke out at the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Karnataka on Saturday. Visuals showed huge plumes of thick, black smoke billowing even as alarms and sirens were heard in the background. The incident took place at a chemical manufacturing unit, located in Bajpe village. According to sources, petroleum by-products are processed at the plant.
Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot after the fire was reported, to bring the flames under control. “The fire broke out at 2.30 pm. We received reports of smoke billowing out of the Mangalore Special Economic Zone area and our team has gone there. I am told it is not a serious situation,” a Fire official at Pandeshwar police station told TNM.
The fire was doused by Saturday evening and no casualties were reported. The cause of the fire is yet to be established and an investigation is underway. Further details are awaited.
Visuals of fire at Catasynth Mangalore SEZ #catasynth pic.twitter.com/GWnFlMxkKX
— Lume (@LumeFire) April 24, 2021
fire at under construction perfume factory in SEZ, Mangaluru on Sat noon pic.twitter.com/CqiUwEOjoU
— Kevin Mendonsa (@KevinMTOI) April 24, 2021
Set up in 2006 and spread across 1600 acres around 15 km from Mangaluru city, the SEZ is jointly promoted by government entities like the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) and companies like Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Infrastructure Leasing & Finance Services (IL&FS).
Earlier this month, a major fire broke out at the plastic recycling unit at the Pachanady garbage dump in Mangaluru. Dakshina Kannada district officials had told TNM at the time that the fire was brought under control quickly and that equipment at the recycling unit was damaged due to the fire. However, it did not spread to the landfill nearby, which is the city’s main dump yard and is over 50 years old. The incident had taken place days after the Karnataka High Court had asked officials from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (PCB) to visit the garbage dump and file a report about allegations of unscientific waste disposal.