Gandhinagar: A day after a massive fire engulfed a chemical factory in the Santej industrial area, one body was recovered from the premises on Saturday morning, while the blaze also spread to a neighbouring unit, causing extensive damage. Preliminary estimates suggest losses of nearly ₹80 crore in the incident, an official press release said.

The fire broke out at Faith Industrial Limited on Friday evening in raw materials used in the chemical and plastic industry. Due to the highly inflammable nature of the materials, the flames rapidly spread through the entire unit and eventually affected the adjacent Techno Instruments factory, intensifying the scale of destruction.

According to the fire department, an emergency call regarding the incident was received at the fire control room at 5:08 pm on Friday. Fire stations at Thaltej and Chandkheda were immediately alerted, and the first fire vehicle reached the site within minutes at 5:10 pm. Given the intensity of the blaze, authorities launched a large-scale firefighting and rescue operation.

A total of 15 fire vehicles and 98 personnel were deployed to control the fire. The operation involved six 20 KL water bowsers, one EMT vehicle and eight first responder Bolero vehicles.

The firefighting team included 64 firemen, six Jamadars, 20 drivers, three sub-officers, three station officers, one Divisional Fire Officer and one Additional Chief Fire Officer.

Officials said the fire was brought completely under control after several hours of intensive efforts. However, during the search operation, the body of one person was found inside the factory premises at around 7 am on Saturday. The body was later handed over to local police for further investigation.

Authorities said no other injuries were reported in the incident. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined. DeshGujarat