A blast in a chemical factory in the outskirts of Mumbai on Thursday morning has left at least five persons dead and around 100 injured after a fire broke out in a boiler in Acharya chemical company at Dombivli suburb.

The impact of the blast was reportedly so severe that it was felt up to a distance of 4 kilometres, affecting at least six buildings and creating panic in the area.

Hours after the incident, in a series of tweets Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed sadness at the incident and said he has already spoken to the local authorities to speed up the rescue and relief operations.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also personally paid a visit to the blast site to take stock of the relief and rescue operations.