At least 45 people have been injured, one critically, after a massive fire broke out following a blast in state-run Bharat Petroleum refinery in central Mumbai's Chembur area on Wednesday afternoon.

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The blast occurred around 2.45 pm at the unit's hydrocracker plant containing around 72 tonnes of liquid hydrocarbon which was to be used for generating diesel. Its tremors rocked residential and commercial complexes within a kilometre's radius while its boom resounded up till Govandi and Deonar.

The blast site is encircled by a number of strategic industrial plants such as those of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Tata Power and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF).

Several videos of the fire raging on after the blast has gone viral on social media. Initially there are plumes of dark smoke and out of nowhere, a roaring blaze envelopes the entire area. 

It is probably a miracle that the final loss in the accident isn't that severe. One can only guess what would be the impact of such a massive blast in a densely populated area. 

The intensity of the blast was so much that people as far as Deonar could feel it. Many people thought that it was an earthquake but soon saw the plumes of smoke from a distance. 

Correction: We inadvertently posted a wrong video on the BPCL blast. The error is deeply regretted. We apologise to our readers and are taking necessary corrective measures to avoid recurrence of such errors.