Palghar: Five persons were critically injured in a fire prima facie caused by the boiler explosion at a tyre plant in Vadavali village in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Wednesday evening, officials said.

The injured persons included two children.

It is not immediately clear whether the injured adults were workers of the company, situated in Kudus industrial area in Wada taluka.

"The incident occurred after 6 PM when oil was being processed in two boilers at the factory. Due to a sudden increase in pressure, the distanced pipe of one of the boilers detached, triggering an explosion and fire," said Vivekanand Kadam, chief of the Disaster Management Cell, Palghar.

The injured persons are identified as Tufan Kalsim Damor (30 ), Roshni Praveen Parmar (26 ), Mula Prema Vasar (27 ), and two children- Kajal Parmar (3 years), and Aakash Prem Masar (18 months), he said, adding that the injured persons are residents of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh.

The official said some of the injured persons are residents of houses adjacent to the factory.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital. Four of them, including the two children, were shifted to Thane for advanced medical care.

Local authorities and disaster management teams rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control. PTI