Fifteen people were injured, some of them seriously, in a gas cylinder explosion in the powerloom town of Bhiwandi here.
According to police, the explosion took place late last evening in a godown at Rajnoli Naka on the Bhiwandi-Nashik Highway where waste plastic was stored for re-cycling.
Of the injured, 12 are said to be critical and are being treated at the Sion Hospital in Mumbai.
Fire tenders around Bhiwandi were rushed to the spot to douse the flames, which engulfed other nearby godowns too. The cause of the fire is still not known, fire brigade sources said.