Pune, May 22 (IANS): A deafening blast followed by a massive fire broke out at a chemical plant in Kurkurmbh MIDC complex in Daundhere on Friday morning but the fire has been brought under control now, officials said.

The blast-cum-blaze erupted in the Kusum Distillation & Refinery Pvt. Ltd. unit in the industrial complex.

Tongues of flames from which thick clouds of smoke emanated were visible for several km outside the factory premises even as the fire brigade teams rushed to battle it.

Five fire tenders and water tankers battled the blaze which was brought under control this afternoon and cooling operations are currently on, according to an official.

Local MP Supriya Sule said that as a precautionary measure, workers in adjoining factories were evacuated, and urged people not to panic as the situation was fully under control.

Though the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, preliminary investigations revealed that several drums containing inflammable materials were stored in the plant which exploded when the fire spread.

There have been no casualties in the incident and further probe is underway, even as top officials including Collector N. K. Ram, police and others were monitoring the situation.