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The incident occurred between 4:40 pm and 5 pm at a welding garage near HPCL building in Mukund Nagar in RCF, Chembur. The explosion took place while welding work was being carried out on an empty gas tanker. The impact of the blast killed the driver on the spot. Two persons engaged in the welding work, Faiyaz Khan and his son Mohammad Arkam sustained injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are undergoing treatment at Shiv Hospital in Laxmi Nagar.

The deceased has been identified as 43-year-old Ram Mukut Mahesh Kanojia, a resident of Thane.

The Mumbai Fire Brigade, local police, 108 ambulance services, BEST, and BMC ward staff were immediately mobilised to the spot soon after the incident. The injured personnel were taken to the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital in Sion where one was declared dead.

The area was secured and preliminary investigations were initiated to ascertain the exact cause of the blast.

The RCF police has been investigating the matter and also examining whether standard safety protocols were followed before welding was carried out on the tanker or not, said senior inspector Datta Patil of the RCF police station.

The force of the explosion shattered the windowpanes of a ground-floor flat in the nearby HPCL Colony, a witness said. A young girl playing close to the house was left startled by the loud blast and the breaking glass.

As per preliminary information, the chemical tanker is owned privately. A crack has developed on the tanker due to which it was given for welding work. The chemical was inside the tanker and as soon as the welder began his work, an explosion took place.