Eight people were feared dead in a blast at a chemical factory in Tarapur chemical zone near Mumbai on Saturday evening, Hindustan Times reported. The factory is located in Palghar district, around 100 km from Mumbai. The blast occurred at the time of production.

At least five people were seriously injured, according to the newspaper. The explosion, which took place around 7.20 pm, was so massive that it was heard 15 km away, police spokesperson Hemant Katkar told PTI.

Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited Deputy Executive Engineer (Boisar) Laxman Rathod said the firm received a call at 7 pm after an aluminium sheet at the factory fell on a transformer feeder. This caused power in the transformer to trip.

“The power was automatically shut and so as a safety measure we also switched off the power supply of the North Zone feeder and as a result around 200 units have no power,” Rathod added. Rathod said fire brigades from different organisations were at the spot, trying to control the blaze. He added that the injured were taken to nearby hospitals.