A high intensity explosion at a chemical laboratory inside the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on Tuesday noon claimed the lives of two junior scientists. BARC, however, confirmed that no reactor, radioactivity or radiation was involved in the incident, which took place about a kilometre away from the nuclear reactor.
The bodies of the scientists — Umang Singh and Partha Bagh — were severely charred. Both were apparently working in one of the rooms on the third floor of the Modular Laboratory, officials said.
According to Swapnesh Kumar Malhotra, head, public awareness division, BARC, the incident took place at 12.05pm on the third floor room of the laboratory. A fire followed the explosion. The BARC fire brigade brought the fire under control in around 45 minutes, Malhotra said, adding the bodies were found by firemen in the laboratory.
“All instruments were burnt but, fortunately, the fire did not spread to the other labs in the building,” BARC director and Atomic Energy Commission chairman Sreekumar Banerjee said.
The exact cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained. Officials from BARC, the police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which manages the security of the centre, are investigating the incident, Malhotra said.
The laboratory is used for chemical tests and research and contained many chemical solvents. “Some chemical reaction could have set off the fire,” he said.
Officials said, normally, around six to seven scientists work in the laboratory under the supervision of a senior scientist but, on Tuesday, the two deceased were alone at the time of the incident.
Additional commissioner of police, East Region, Ritesh Kumar said Umang Singh, 24, was a resident of Jogeshwari , while Partha Pritam Bagh, 23, was a native of 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.
Security had been enhanced at BARC following intelligence inputs that the country’s prestigious nuclear facility faced terror threats.
FSL officials have collected samples from the laboratory where the explosion took place to find the reason for the explosion, Kumar said
