PUNE: The owner of Sai Chemicals, Amarnath Ramni, has been arrested after the chemical unit caught fire on Wednesday night. The area falls under Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

The industrial belt of Pimpri-Bhosari near here was shocked by the news of the devastating fire at a chemicals factory in which 10 women workers died and eight others were injured.

Fifteen fire engines battled the blaze till late on Wednesday night to bring it under control.

The factory was engaged in supplying cover material for bombs made at military ammunition manufacturing units and had a storage of highly inflammable chemicals that had been kept in 20 big containers.

An explosion preceded the fire that engulfed the premises of the factory which employed around 35 workers, majority of them being women. While rest of the employees on the shift yesterday managed to flee to safety, four women were charred to death on the spot.

Later, fire brigade personnel discovered the bodies of six others who suffocated to death as the bathroom in which they sought shelter was filled with thick smoke.

Three women jumped off the first floor of the two-storey unit and suffered fractures, police said.

Fire brigade and police officials said the exact cause of the fire was under investigation.